Spy High
by Coolio101
Summary: "So you're saying, that for you it's impossible, both physically and mentally, to ever love anyone?" He asked. I looked down at my feet,  unable to meet his eyes. "Yes, but if I could love someone, anyone, Edward, it would be you." Spies, drama, action!
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Hi, this is my first fanfic, so reviews and criticism are welcome. I hope you enjoy it, and don't forget to review! Unlike most fanfics, I plan on ending this story.

BPOV

Today is officially the worst day of my life. I was about to leave everything behind: my friends, and my awesome school. My best girl friends, Leah and Emily, were practically in hysterics. My best friend Jacob was close to tears, but putting on a brave face for my sake. Oh, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Bella Swan. I live, at least for the moment, in a town name La Push. My dad is the chief of police here. I've always wanted to catch bad guys like him, ever since age 4. But I never really wanted to drive around ostentatiously in a beeping car, flashing red and blue lights. I mean, how are you supposed to catch crooks like that? Any criminal with half a brain would clear out before the police were 10 miles in. I prefer a much more stealthy and subtle way of carrying out the law. Which brings me to the next important part of my life: spying. Instead of going to a regular high school, I go to a top notch private school for spies. I'm at the top of my class. There I have all the friends I previously mentioned. Though in eighth grade Jacob asked me out. I said yes, but afterwards it kind of fell apart. That caused many awkward moments. But it was my fault. Ever since I was seven, I've resolved never to completely hand over my heart. No matter how much I liked the guy, there was always this small part of my heart that I kept to myself. See, when I was seven, my parents Renee and Charlie divorced. After seeing how completely broken Charlie was for many months afterwards, I told myself I never wanted to risk being in that much pain. By the time I reached age 12 when most girls reached puberty and were having their first crushes protecting myself internally had already become a pretty deeply ingrained habit and I couldn't really think of a good reason of why I should break it. As the years progressed, I only saw things to strengthen my resolve. Like when Leah and Emily fought over the same guy, Sam. Emily won out. Though now Leah and Jacob are going steady, I don't think Leah ever truly forgave Emily. Anyway, back to the present. Charlie was calling for me to hurry up and get in the car. I gave Leah and Emily both a quick last hug, and kissed Jake on the cheek without meeting his eyes. After a last assurance that I would write or call at least once a week, I got in the car, wiping my eyes. If I looked back I would completely break apart. Next week, I was officially transferring to The Middle of Nowhere. There, Charlie had a new job and I would be attending the best spy school in America. Win-win, right? Not for me.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!

BPOV

"You've got to be kidding me." That was the first thing I said when Charlie parked in front of our new house. The town we were in looked like a ghost town, straight out of a Wild West movie. Our house was about a 10 minutes walk from the nearest general store, which was convenient, but still.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure the people living here are friendly and you'll warm up to them in no time," Charlie said optimistically. Charlie was my dad, but somehow, I always thought of him as Charlie. As for the residents, the only people here looked at least fifty.

"Remind me again, why are we here?" I asked.

"Well, the town asked me to become sheriff here, the salary's decent, and the best spy school in the country is only an hour's drive from here." I couldn't believe a town like this was even on the map, much less in need of a Sheriff. But I could understand why this godforsaken place (the middle of Nebraska) was the ideal place for a spying school. With little to no people to ask questions, and in a place as close to the middle of nowhere as possible, it was the ideal undercover place for a school of spies. But back to the point. I should really try to start off with a more positive attitude, seeing as this place was about to become my home, or at least for another two years until I graduate and work officially for the government. I grabbed my suitcase and headed upstairs. Since Charlie felt bad for moving, he promised me first pick of rooms. I decided on a small, plain room that was facing away toward the main road and painted a light blue. Strangely, sure enough, I was warming up to this place. There was something surreal about living in a two bedroom house in a place that belonged in a 1960s movie. I started to unpack my pitiful collection of clothes and my impressive collection of books. Then I started to read.

Charlie insisted on eating out tonight to "become more acquainted with the neighborhood." We went to a small, tacky place whose specialty seemed to be burgers and fries, which suited Charlie perfectly. After the waitress took our orders, Charlie asked me if I liked our new house all right.  
"I don't know, seeing as I've been living here for two hours, but it seems cozy. And even if this town isn't even on the map, and it seems a million miles away from the world, there's something peaceful about it. Like life's problems can't bother me here."

"I'm glad to see that you like it, Bells. I was worried that you would hate it, seeing as there aren't any malls nearby for you to shop in." Charlie smiled his crinkly eyed smile at me.

"Don't worry dad-I don't like shopping anyway." I replied.

"I don't know…sometimes it seems like I'm taking a lot away from you, that you've had to mature so fast. Most people don't have a chief of police for a dad, and with school and stuff…"

"Don't take it so hard on yourself. School's great, I have my friends, and I can make more here."

"I know. I'm just being silly. But I know your mom's and my divorce was hard on you, and now this move…" This was making me uncomfortable. My dad and I rarely had these personal father-to-daughter talks, and the topic was making me squirm. I said the only thing I could think of: "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I can take care of myself, and you have enough to think about without me on your mind."

Charlie looked relieved I had ended the subject. After dinner, he surprised me by handing me a fifty dollar bill.  
"Go spend it on some nice clothes. After all, tomorrow you start school, and you want to look nice. Meet you later."

I knew he probably was just being nice and giving me some time to myself, but I couldn't help feeling that he wanted to get rid of me for a few hours. But I thanked him and walked off, wondering how the heck was I supposed to find my way around town and discover a clothing store that was somewhat modern.

Luckily, training to be a spy had dramatically improved my sense of direction. Within ten minutes, I had found a small, brightly lit used clothing store, the only one within 45 miles that sold clothes for teens. Sure, the clothes were used, but they were nice and cheap. After two hours, since I still couldn't shake off that nagging feeling that Charlie wanted to be alone for a while, I bought two pairs of comfortable, faded jeans, soft and worn, four shirts, and two pairs of shoes. I normally wouldn't have bought this much, but sometimes when I was nervous or upset, shopping would tire me out and the effect was oddly soothing. Also, I was in dire need of new clothes, not having gone shopping in two months, and this increased my wardrobe by about fifty percent. When I went home, I dropped my newly bought clothes in shock. Right in front of the house, was a Chevy truck with Charlie standing proudly next to it.

"It's all yours, Bells. I figure you're too old for me to drive you to school anymore." Charlie called out.

My eyes were wide as I surveyed the truck. It was a dull worn shade of orange, probably couldn't go over fifty miles an hour, smelled faintly like tobacco, and was at least twenty five years old. I absolutely loved it.

"Bella? Are you ok?" Charlie asked concerned. My eyes were tearing up. Before he could say another word, I threw myself at him, giving him a bear hug. Somewhat awkwardly, Charlie untangled himself, a bit embarrassed now. A truck! I had never, ever, in a million years expected this. Plus it provided good camouflage here. One of the first rules of spying.

"Thanks dad. I really love it." I said, wiping my eyes.

"Um…you're welcome," Charlie said. "I figured it was the least I could do. You're growing up so quickly, and now I won't be able to see as much of you anymore."

Oops. I forgot to mention that at my new school, I would be coming home only for the weekends. I was going there tomorrow since it was Sunday, and I wanted a tour of the school alone, without any other students there.

That night in bed, after packing, listening to the gentle roars of the cars outside my window, I experienced my first real nervousness. Tomorrow I was going to see my new school for the first time and the day after that, I would have to meet new students. Spy school wasn't the same as regular high school. In a regular high school, a kid gets lunch detention for skipping class. In spy school, you get lunch detention for putting someone else in a coma. In regular high school, you are classified as popular, athletic jock, smart geek, or complete nerd. In spy school, you are either a weakling, coward, bully or strong. In every spy school there is only one motto: Only the strongest survive. Though at my old school, this motto was taken a little more leniently, but I was sure at my new school, Avalon Academy, this motto would be everyone's strict personal philosophy. Or else how could this school become the "best in the country"? The butterflies in my stomach began fluttering madly. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Thanks! I finally got a review! To the person who reviewed, hope you keep on reading! P.S. Sorry this chapter is so short, but I'll write more soon.

BPOV

Have you ever seen a huge building rise up out of nowhere in the middle of plains? Well, picture it. Now add to that mental image a twenty foot high electric fence surrounding the building. Pretty intimidating, isn't it? That's how I felt when I caught my first glimpse of Avalon High, School for Potential Spies. I gulped.

Driving slowly toward the iron gate, I stopped and waited for the security cameras to pick me up. Sure enough, in a matter of seconds, a radio at the edge of the gate buzzed and then, "Name and business please."

"Bella Swan, and I'm the new transfer student here," I said, loudly and clearly. Always act confident and like you know what you're doing in front of security cameras and radios. "Okay, miss, head down the main hallway, turn left and go up the stairs. The headmaster wants to see you." The gate opened, and I parked in the enormous parking lot. Walking toward the huge doors, I stopped. The stairs leading up to the doors were rigged. A closer look told me they were mines, but obviously deactivated. I smiled. Every spy knows how to figure out the exact footing when confronted by mines to avoid being blown up. Even though the mines weren't activated, I still liked to confront a challenge. Okay now, left foot there, right foot up, jump there, land there, right foot there, and etc, until I reached the door. Mine dances, as I like to call them, was as uncomplicated to us as hopscotch or twister is to a nine year old kid. Then, taking a deep breath, I opened the door and entered.

Immediately, the vastness of the lobby hit me. It was _huge_. Also, what was strange, was that while the building was pretty old, there was evidence of the newest technology everywhere. Following the instructions I was given, I managed to get to what I assumed must be the headmaster's office. I knocked and the door opened.

My first impression of the headmaster was that he was like a stern grandfather. He was balding, at least sixty, quite large, and had an impressive mustache.

"Hello, sir," I said calmly despite the nervousness inside.

"Hello, Miss Swan. How do you do?" He asked politely, shaking my hand. His handshake was firm and friendly.

"I'm quite well, thank you. And you?" I asked.

"Quite well, quite well. I've heard a lot about you. I understand you were at the top of your class in La Push Spying School?"

"I was all right," I said modestly. He laughed a booming laugh.

"Well, Miss Swan, since I quite like you, I think I'll personally give you a VIP tour of the school. Now I will send someone down to the parking lot to fetch your bags. Come."

I followed him as he showed me where all my classes were and handed me my schedule. This school was certainly not like La Push. It was so much more advanced, elite. Intimidating. Finally, he showed me to the dorms.

"Well, here we are. I hope you enjoy your stay here," he said before bowing formally and exiting. Not surprisingly, my bags were there. I went into a room. Only one bed was bare, and I assumed that was mine. The room was nice, and there were two beds in each room, I soon found out. The bed next to mine was extremely fancy and the sheets were silk, imported from India. Holy cow. Not to mention that she had at least ten bags full of clothes. My one small suitcase never looked more pitiful.


	4. Chapter 4

Author's note: Please review! Please, please, please……

BPOV

Early the next morning I awoke by the sound of cars coming into the parking lot and people talking/laughing. Hurriedly, I took a shower, changed, put on my favorite barrette (it could change into a razor sharp dagger) and my favorite garnet ring (if you flipped the gemstone back it concealed five different types of poison) and headed to my first class. Biology, wonderful. The thing about our classes is that every class has something to do with spying or survival skills. For example, in biology, we learn about what plants are okay to eat, how certain animals react, etc. In chemistry we learn how to make deadly poisons and lethal substances and their antidotes. In gym we learn how to climb ropes and attack as well as defend. And so on. Biology was not easy. As a spy, you have to be conscious of every little change, so my wish to stay invisible was simply not possible. All through Mr. What's-his-face lecture, I had to deal with whispers and comments about me. So I was relieved when I had gym next, my best class. Nothing like throwing a punch to get all the stress out. A nice girl named Angela in my class pointed me in the right direction. I hurried there, with a few minutes to spare. The good thing about our gym is that you don't have to change, since spies have to be ready in any condition, wearing any clothes. In the gym, there were a group of giggling silly girls. I overheard the name "Edward Cullen." Who the heck this Edward Cullen was I had no idea, but I was sure I'd find out soon. Soon all the students arrived. The coach told us to all get on the bleachers. I sat on the edge, trying to attract as little attention as possible by staring at the ground. Coach Cluck, I think his name was, told us all to gather around the gigantic matt in the middle of the gym.

"Now, one by one, I'll call two people out, and the two, using only their fists and skill, will fight until one is defeated. The rest of you will gather around and watch, and see if any of you can pick up a new strategy." He called out. I watched as guy after guy and girl after girl defeated each other, trying to stifle a yawn. Boring. I didn't learn a single new move and they said this spying school was at the top of the list? I was jerked awake when Cluck called out my name. _What?!?_

"Swan, you can go against McCarthy." Coach shouted out. As this McCarthy guy rose, I stared coolly at him, sizing him up. He was at least six feet tall, with curly brown hair, and pretty good looking. But I wasn't concentrating on that. What I was looking for was anything that might help me win. A chink in the armor, a secret weakness, call it whatever you like. I got the idea from studying heroes and Greek mythology in English. No matter how strong or daring the hero might be, he always had a "fatal flaw" as you might say. This guy's biggest asset was obviously his strength, with arms the width of those famous Greek columns. But speed? Doubtful. Also, he was twitching impatiently as Coach Cluck whispered something in his ear. Hmm, impatience might also be a weakness. All this went through my head in less than a second. As Coach Cluck whispered something to my opponent, I caught the words "…easy on her, just want to see how good she is." It took all my power not to smirk, but a good spy has a perfected poker face. My opponent grinned and turned to face me. He was practically radiating confidence. I almost smiled. My appearance did give me something of an advantage-I was medium sized and Jake had told me more than once that had he not known better, he would have thought I was a wimpy weak girl, as breakable as glass. It made my opponents underestimate me. "No hard feelings when I win, okay?" He said smugly. He introduced himself as Emmett and as he turned to face me, I took care to keep out of reach of his arms. If he grabbed me, it was all over. Every time he made a grab for me, I would leap out of his way. After a while, the audience was getting bored. One of them whispered "Chicken." We'll see who's chicken when I'm done. Emmett was clearly getting frustrated and impatient. I doubted he was used to going so long without winning. Finally, as quick as a king cobra strikes, he lunged for me. Luckily, I had been waiting for this moment. Even more quicker than him, I slid down on my back under him and with both feet kicked him in the stomach. He went flying at least five feet, and before he could recover, I had him in a headlock. There was a moment of shocked silence and then I released him as Coach Cluck blew the whistle to signify the end of the match. "No hard feelings?" I said, offering him my hand unable to keep the smugness out of my voice. He stared at it for a second before heartily shaking it. "We'll see who'll win next time," he said, but I noticed his voice was much friendlier than before and no longer mocking or smug. As if by beating him, I had proved myself worthy of his friendship. "We'll see," I replied.

"I'll take her on," a voice spoke. I looked up to see that the voice belonged to a bronze haired, green eyed boy.

"I'm Edward Cullen," he said. As I looked closer at him, I realized I wasn't surprised that the girls I had seen previously were crazy about him. He was better looking than most movie stars with his high cheekbones, hollow cheeks and perfect body. His voice had a commanding ring to it that no one, not even Coach Cluck objected to his challenging me. I studied him, sizing him up the way I had Emmett. He was sure to be quick, and more than likely had as much, if not more skill than I had. But he also radiated an aura of conceit, arrogance and overconfidence. He was obviously a player and I judged most of his confidence came from his good looks. His looks had probably distracted most girls, but I had spent years building up defenses for this. I had none of those thoughts most women had upon seeing him. But since the only weakness I could see came from his arrogance, and most of that arrogance came from his own good looks, I thought it couldn't hurt to play on that weakness. Again, all this happened in my head in little less than a second.

Instantly, I let my jaw drop, my eyes widen to travel along his face, especially at his lips, and slowly down to his chest. A blush would have been a nice touch, but I couldn't feign that. "I-I'm B-Bella," I stuttered, seeming for all the world completely dazed. On the inside however, my mind was as clear as a bell. A few people behind me chuckled, and one said, "She's hopeless." As for Edward himself, a smirk slowly grew on his face. As soon as we finished shook hands, he struck. I purposely barely deflected his blow, and shook my head, giving the appearance of trying to clear my mind. He struck again and again, with my own defenses going weaker and weaker and each time I got weaker, he let down his guard a little more. Finally, when he was about to deliver the winning blow at my chest, I decided his guard was let down enough. As his hand went forward, I grabbed it, used it like a handle to spin him around so his back was against my chest, one of my arms holding his in place and with my other hand extended two fingers so the were against his pulse, where both of us knew, that if I pressed even the slightest bit, he would die. Once my own pulse slowed, I was aware of again, how silent it was but this time the stillness lasted a little longer. Edward was quite obviously better than Emmett in his own way and I highly doubted that he'd ever been beaten before. Slowly I released him as again, Coach blew the whistle that signified my victory. Everyone was still staring at me. I had a feeling that seeing Emmett McCarthy and Edward Cullen defeated within the same hour was not something you saw every day. The bell rang and Coach dismissed us for the day while Edward, struggling to maintain some of his dignity, glared at me and said,

"You got lucky today, Swan. I was letting you off easy since you're new, but next time, I'll win."

I laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. "You wish."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Okay, after this chapter I am not writing any more until I get at least one more review. Then, I promise, I'll update. Please!**

BPOV

After gym, I decided to go to my dorm before going to my next class. I had a free period, and I needed some peace. Desperately. Unfortunately for my peaceful time, I had barely entered the dorm door than someone began hurling questions at me.

"OMG, how did you beat my brother, and Emmett too? Although Edward isn't really my brother, he's my step brother. God, I've been trying to beat both of them since I came here and NEVER succeeded yet. Hey, I'm Alice, and you're Bella of course…" The person who was named Alice went on and on. In fact, she talked so long and fast without taking a single breath that I was afraid she'd pass out. I took a second look at Alice. She did not even remotely resemble her step brother. She was at least a foot shorter than me, and it's not like I'm over five four. She had short black hair, striking features that were somehow extremely pretty, but most obviously, instead of the open arrogance in her eyes her brother had, there was a bubbly energy and she clearly knew the gossip in the school no less than half a minute after it happened. Finally, she stopped and looked at me expectantly.

"Um, well, I guess I beat Edward out of pure luck, since I'm pretty sure he was distracted as he kept looking behind him to see if the girls in my class were watching him," I said evasively. But it was the truth. Alice laughed. I smiled. Maybe things were looking up. So far, Angela had been nice to me, I'd apparently gained the respect of the strongest guy in the school, and Alice clearly wanted me as a friend. She had the same next two classes as me as well (chemistry and lunch). In chemistry, while experimenting with the properties of phosphorus, I got to know Alice better. Spies are multitasked like that. So far, Alice had different views with me on music (I liked classical, she liked pop), books (I liked the classics, her fav author was Sarah Dessen), movies (my favorite was A Walk to Remember, she liked Confessions of a Shopaholic) and shopping (I believed in comfortable, casual, and cheap clothes, she believed in fashionable, expensive, and utterly painful clothes) which immediately made us close friends. You know that saying about how opposites attract? It definitely applied here.

Lunch came too quickly. I had no idea where to sit. Where you sit depends on what the others rate you as and I didn't have a clue what the other students thought of me. Luckily, Alice made the choice for me.

"Of course you'll sit with us, Bella!" she squealed. "I know you'll love Rosalie, who's also Emmett's girlfriend, her brother Jasper's _amazing_"(a dreamy look came over her face) "Emmett loves competition, and you'll provide that, and Edward…"she frowned, "he'll come around in time."

"I'm not worried about me liking _them_, it's _them_ liking _me_, I'm worried about," I pointed out. Alice laughed. "Stop worrying, Bella, or else you'll go prematurely gray."

Ever been the new kid at a school? You thought that was bad. Well, picture this. When Alice and I walked into the cafeteria, which a second ago was full of shouting, laughter and talking, it got dead quiet. Every head turned toward us. I blushed slightly, and hurried after Alice to her table. Some people gasped. I guessed that Alice's table was the most popular, the royalty and nobility of the social class, the top of the food chain. I whispered aside to Alice as someone gasped with envy as we sat down, "I feel kind of bad. It seems a lot of people spend all their time trying to get invited to sit here."

"Well, those people need to seriously reconsider their life," Alice said drolly. "I only invite people who aren't desperate to be cool, aren't sluts, aren't stupid, and have a life. That's why I invited you to sit here. You didn't assume you were going to sit here, and you weren't desperate to either. But anyway, this is Rosalie," Alice said in a louder voice gesturing to the girl across from us who hadn't noticed either of us. She was gorgeous, with flowing long blond hair, perfect features, striking electric blue eyes, and was listening to music, nodding in time to the rhythm. At Alice's voice, she looked up and took her earphones out.

"So you're Bella," she said. "I heard you kicked my boyfriend's butt during gym. I must offer you my congratulations. You're only the third person here who's ever managed to do that." I was relieved. I had been worried she might be the whole "protective girlfriend type," but she was smiling.

"Who were the first two?" I asked, grinning back.

"Edward, and, of course, me," she said, amused. The slim, tall blond boy next to her reached across the table to shake my hand. "Hi, I'm Jasper," he said grinning.

"What are we doing? Introductions?" Emmett's booming voice said as he sat down next to Rosalie and slipped his arm around her shoulders. Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Bella and I already met, of course," Emmett said, "Oh, and Bella?" I looked at him as he waggled his eyebrows and glared playfully at me, "Next time it's you who'll be going down."

I couldn't help laughing. "You're on, Emmett, you're on,"

"I bet ten bucks that Bella wins," Alice chimed in.

"I bet ten bucks that Em wins," Rosalie countered. She then looked apologetically at me. "Sorry Bella, but he is my boyfriend."

"No offence taken," I said. The sound of high pitched giggling made me look up. The infamous Edward Cullen had finally arrived. Not to mention at least 6 or 7 silly babbling girls around him.

"I hate it whenever he does this," Alice muttered under her breath. I looked at her questionably. "Whenever he's depressed or upset he always has to invite half a dozen whores to our table," she explained. Without even acknowledging me in any way whatsoever, he sat down next to Jasper and began kissing one of the girls closest to him.

"Don't the other girls ever get jealous?" I asked Alice in an undertone, trying not to gag.

"If they even remotely loved him, then maybe," Alice said, looking a little nauseous. I felt bad for her, it must be hard to see her brother, even if he was her step brother, doing all sorts of these _activities._ "But no, it's all lust, and shallow lust at that," she continued. By the way Jasper was leaning slightly away, and the look of disgust/grim amusement Emmett and Rose shared (who, by now, I could guess were not above doing more when they were alone together), I could see I was not the only one revolted. I wondered why his friends even put up with it.

"He's been through a lot," Jasper said quietly, as if reading my mind. Rosalie sighed. "I keep waiting for the right person to come along and make him wake up to what he's doing since he won't listen to us, as all of us would feel too bad to suggest that he stop except by gently raising the suggestion. But until then, I'm guessing I'll have to put up with it." All of this was said too quietly for Edward to pick up, and when lunch ended, I couldn't stop thinking what Rose and Jasper meant when they said, "they would feel bad by suggesting harshly that he quit acting like a jerk," and that "he'd been through a lot."

**AN: Right now, if you're reading this, you're probably wondering when the romance will start. For Edward, it's probably in about 2-3 chapters, for Bella, a bit later.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Ok, even though I didn't get another review I'm still updating again since I feel bad about not thanking the people who have put me under their "Favorite Stories" list. But still, is one more review too much to ask for? **

EPOV

I could not believe Alice, or any of my so-called-friends for that matter. How dare they initiate the Swan girl into our circle! Over the last two weeks she, Alice, and Rosalie became inseparable, and, for the first time ever, I felt left out. Ok, so maybe it was partially my fault-my pride prevented me from getting to know Bella better. But it was too humiliating for me to get beaten by this thin, plain weakling. Me, Avalon High's star spy, who has never ever been beaten before now! Not that Bella made our fragile acquaintance any more friendly, on the contrary, she made it more awkward by stumbling in on me doing some things I would have preferred she not stumble upon.

_Flashback_

_ I had finally given in to Lauren's pleas. We were in a room kissing passionately, or at least she was passionate, when Bella rushed into the room looking wild, and carrying a first-aid kit. Lauren and I broke apart immediately, while all three of us blushed bright red. Lauren hurriedly called out, "See you later, Ed," before hurrying out of the room. Bella looked at me with disgust evident in her eyes, before following Lauren out. Just before she exited, I heard her muttering, "How was I supposed to know? They were both moaning so loudly, I thought someone was having a heart attack or on the verge of death."_

I winced at the memory. It would have been extremely funny if it didn't happen to me. It wasn't the only time Bella stumbled in on me either.

_Flashback_

_ This time, again, Bella caught me making out with another girl, Jessica. Before going out, I heard her mumbling under her breath, "Yuck. Double yuck, there. Why did I have to witness that? Why me, why me, why me?!?_

After that, I decided to stop doing that kind of thing in publicly accessible areas. Now whenever Bella and I crossed paths, one of us always blushed. I was weird how I thought it was embarrassing that Bella caught me doing that kind of thing while my family and friends caught me doing that kind of thing all the time, yet I couldn't care less about it. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to Bella yet. Alice noticed the awkwardness between us and whenever it was possible, she tried to get us to be friends, or be alone together. Which, of course, led to the Bella incident at our house.

It wasn't really a house, more of a two roomed apartment a few miles from the school in a medium sized town. Alice had invited Bella there to spend Friday night. Since my parents, Carlisle and Esme lived far away enough so that it was inconvenient to get to school on Mondays, Alice and I rented our own apartment close to the school. I was nice, and often I had the whole place to myself as Alice herself often went to parties. I was not happy Bella was coming.

"Come on, she hates me," I whined. Alice glared at me.

"Bella is coming, whether you like it or not, and with the way you've been acting around her, all standoffish and stupid, I wouldn't be surprised. But anyway, this will be the perfect time for you two to get to know each other better!" Alice squealed.

"Uh, no, Bella is your guest and FWI, I'll be in my room the whole time." I replied. Alice looked disheartened for a moment before brightening up again when the doorbell rang and Bella stepped in.

The night went smoothly enough. True to my word, I stayed inside my room the whole time while Alice and Bella giggled and talked in the other bedroom. However, in the morning, Alice looked at us, plainly ignoring the other while we ate breakfast.

"You know what? I just remembered that I forgot pick up a pair of shoes that I ordered, so I have to go now."

"I'll come with you," Bella offered.

"No, no, why don't you and Edward stay at home and get to know each other better? Edward, you can show her your room, and all," Alice winked at me.

"Alice…" I said in a warning tone.

"Bye, ya'll!" Alice said and was out the door before either of us could protest. Bella glared at the place where Alice had been standing.

"Here, follow me," I said in a bored voice. Bella followed me to my room. It wasn't much. Just a messily made bed, several clothes on the floor, a piano in a corner, and paper and books scattered everywhere so you could barely see the rug. Bella's eyes widened as she looked at it in awe, then distaste. I shrugged-I hadn't bothered cleaning up since four years ago, when…my throat clenched as I forced myself back from the memory. "It's so…disorganized," Bella said bluntly, wrinkling her nose at the moldy sandwich next to her feet. Something about her scathing tone inflamed my temper.

"'Look, if you don't like it, then clean it up yourself! It's my room, and my house, so why don't you make yourself useful and clean up if you can't stand messiness?" I snapped. I hated people who criticized what wasn't even theirs. Bella's eyes widened.

"Maybe I will," she said indignantly, and made her way across the room immediately started piling books on the bookshelf. My temper gone as quickly as it had come, I watched in amusement. I had never actually expected her to do it, but clearly Bella was different from most other girls. I watched her for a few more minutes before going into the living room and turning on my ipod. In time, I closed my eyes and lost myself in the music. When I opened them again, I saw in front of me and revolted Bella holding something with a Kleenex.

"_What_…are these?" She asked in a voice laced with nausea. On closer inspection, the object appeared to be a pair of cheap, polyester panties. Oh, _shit_, I had completely forgotten about those.

"When I cleaned your bed, I found four of five of these. Is that what you do in your free time? Go seduce some poor lust struck woman? God, what kind of person _are _you? You have got to be the most despicable, self-centered, egotistic person I have ever met!" Her voice was rising. "I've put up with you for Alice's sake. Alice-I don't even know how you can be related to her! What kind of person goes sleeping around, dates a crowd of women at the same time, and doesn't even care about the humiliation of their family and friends?" She was screaming now.

"You don't know what I've been through." I said quietly.

"I don't care if you're insane, or secretly the Crown Prince of Italy, nothing gives you the right to do what you've been doing," Bella said, her eyes flashing.

"Don't talk to me like that in my own house! Get out, GET OUT!" Bella looked like she might slap me, but got her stuff, and gave me a look that froze my blood. Her eyes were colder than ice and hard as flint, and said calmly, too calmly, "You don't know how despicable you are, yet how lucky. You're lucky to have friends who truly care for you, and would stick by you no matter how big of an asshole you are. You're lucky to have a sister who loves you more than anything. But you probably already know that, to some extent. What you don't know, or understand, is how utterly undeserving you are of them."

And with that, she went out the door.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, SO MUCH for all the reviews!!!!! You are all amazing, and, with newfound encouragement and enthusiasm, I'll update this chapter 3 days earlier than I would have with no reviews. If you don't like this chapter, please don't be mad at me! Just tell me what you don't like about it in your reviews.**

EPOV

The next two days were hell, pure hell. I swear on my life that even the devil would cower at the look Alice gave me when she found out I had kicked Bella out.

_Mucho Unhappy Flashback_

_ "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU KICKED HER OUT?!" Alice had screamed at me at the top of her lungs. _

_ "I told you already, so please don't make me repeat it, and anyway, you should have heard some of the things she yelled at me!" I said defensively. _

_ "Look, if I were her, I'd have the same reaction when she saw evidence of how big of a selfish airhead you are. Not to mention, you had no right to order her to clean your stinking room when she pointed out the obvious. She was a _guest,_ Edward, I guest. Elizabeth would be ashamed of you."_

_ "Don't even _mention_ her," I said through gritted teeth. _

_ "See here, we put up with your self pity and actions for four years because we felt bad for you. But it's time for you to wake up and take a look at what you've become. What would Elizabeth think? And now, because of you, Bella will never want to become my friend," Alice said, tears glittering on her cheeks before she turned and ran into her room."_

_End of Unhappy Flashback_

As I sat in my room, I realized Alice was right. Mom, Elizabeth, would have wanted me to get over her death. Not that that was the only reason I got pissed off when Bella had started yelling at me for being such a player. The more I thought of it, the more guilty I felt. I realized that Bella, also, had a point. I imagined her kindness in cleaning out my room, only to find, well, what she had found. Then, when all she did was tell me the truth about my character, albeit somewhat harshly and bluntly, I had turned her out of the house, a guest, as Alice had pointed out, and her best friend! My face burned in shame. I vowed, next time I saw Bella alone, I would go apologize.

BPOV

I was in complete shock, and humiliation. Shock because of what I found in Edward's bedroom, shock at the things we had yelled at each other, and shocked because I found myself turned out from my new best friend's house by her brother. I was in deep humiliation for the way my emotions had completely taken over me. Seriously! Any good spy knows how to control his/her feelings, which proved just how incompetent I was. Not to mention that while all of the things I had shrieked (I blushed again at my lack of composure) were definitely in my view justified, it wasn't right for me to just insult him like that, especially in his own house. And, jerkhead though he may be, he was Alice's brother. God, I wondered how much Alice must hate me right now, for insulting her brother like that. I would call her, but, coward that I was, I was too afraid of what she might say. I decided the best way for Alice and Edward to forgive me, as well as clear my conscience, was to apologize to Edward first thing on Monday.

EPOV

The next morning, I looked around anxiously for Bella. I had decided that in order to prevent any awkward moments during lunch, my best option was to corner her after gym. Which happened, but not in the way I had expected.

The bell had just rung, signaling the end of P.E. when I hurried to look for Bella before she left. Unfortunately, someone else cornered me.

"So, Eddie, I've missed you," Lauren pouted. God, she used way too much lipstick. To a certain extent, I could understand Bella's revulsion she felt for me for making out with these kinds of women.

"Really, Lauren, it's been only two days." I said uncomfortably. Exactly why was I uncomfortable? I had never been in these situations for four years.

"Yes, but it feels like years, doesn't it?" She inched closer. Her perfume was nauseating and at that moment, it was like someone slapped me in the face, waking me up to reality. I looked down at Lauren in horror. Was this really what I'd been doing for four years? The sudden realization made me panic.

"Sorry, Lauren, I'm really not interested," I said, pushing her back slightly. Real smooth, I know. She glared at me and harrumphed before skipping away and immediately flirting with another guy. I watched stunned, my mouth open. Of course, with my luck, during this whole interaction with Lauren, neither of us had noticed we had an audience. Yep, you guessed it, Bella stepped out from behind some lockers where she had hidden, and was laughing uncontrollably, her arms locked around her ribs to support herself. She was laughing so hard that, in fact, she made no noise at all. At last, she calmed down.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, irate, which was not the smartest tactic to use with someone you are trying to have forgive you, but my pride was wounded. I noticed it had been wounded more and more often these days.

"Oh, just at the expression Lauren had when you ditched her, and the expression _you_ had when she started flirting with another guy," she said, smiling at me. It crossed my mind that this was the first time, _ever_, that she had ever looked at me with anything less than a glare or fake acceptance. I couldn't help noticing how pretty, how transformed her face became when she smiled, from a formidable opponent, or someone who looked like she hated your guts to someone you wish you knew, someone whom you would do anything to make her smile at you like that again.

"Did you wish to talk to me about something?" I asked, as it was unlikely _Bella Swan_ was the kind of girl who spied on me for no reason other than lust. Her smile disappeared.

"Yes, actually, I just wanted to apologize for the things I said to insult you in your own home. No one should have to listen to that kind of stuff being thrown at them in their own home. It was very uncivilized of me, and I hope you'll forgive me." She said sincerely. I was shocked. It should have been me the one apologizing.

"No, you have nothing to be sorry for, everything you said was true. But can I ask you one question?" She nodded. "Do you really think me as despicable as what you were so kind to hint to me last Friday?" She blushed. As I waited for an answer I looked deep into her eyes so that, if she lied when she replied, I could detect it. Finally, she spoke.

"I rarely say things that I do not mean," I winced. She really meant all those things she'd said on Friday. "But my opinion may change. If you continued to be an asshole and just brush off and forget about what I said, then yes, you really are despicable. However, if you do decide to change," she said considering me for a second and hesitated. I gulped, waiting for her to finish her statement and tensed. Her face was completely serious and she contemplated me thoughtfully, but I relaxed when I saw the playful light in her eyes. "If you do decide to change your ways, Edward Cullen, then maybe, just maybe, I can find it in my heart to forgive you. If fact, believe it or not, I think that you'd actually be kind of cute," she finished teasingly. I barely heard her as she exited, too busy thinking over her last few words. _You'd actually be kind of cute._

**A/N So what do you think? Do you think I made her forgive him too easily? I repeat, don't be afraid to tell me what you think of the story so far!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I apologize if my chapters are too short, but that's just the way I write, I guess. I also apologize if you think this chapter is boring, since it's main purpose is for the reader to get to know Bella better. I think that's important if this story is going to function. Oh, and please tell me if you like Edward or Bella's POV better.**

BPOV

I nearly crashed into a close-to-tears, nearly hysterical Alice when I walked into the cafeteria today. Before I could react, she was babbling incoherently about how sorry she was and would I please, please forgive her, and still be her friend?

"Whoa, whoa, Alice, back up." I said, "What the heck are you blabbering on about? Why wouldn't I want to be your friend?"

"My brother k-kicked you out," she hiccupped.

"That has nothing to do with you," I said, trying to comfort her.

"Yes, it does! You know I purposely left you alone with him, despite my inner instincts that this would not go well."

"You were just trying to make us friends, but if you insist, yes, I forgive you, even thought there's nothing to forgive." Alice nearly strangled me with her hug, ignoring Rose, Jasper and Emmett, who were goggling at us. "Bella, I know this may be too much to ask for, but could you please forgive Edward too? I know that he may be occasionally the poster child for most obnoxious, rudest blockhead, but he _is_ my brother, after all." I heard light footsteps behind me, and, unable to resist, I replied, "Yes, I did forgive him, but only because _Eddie_ looked about to wet his pants in mortification, and could you blame me if I wanted to be spared that sight?"

"Excuse me," a smooth voice said right behind me, "but _Eddie_ can hear you, you know."

"Oh, I know," I said, smiling, "that's why I said it."

Rose, now looking impatient, cleared her throat loudly, "Sorry to break up this whole touching forgiving-each-other scene, but could someone please tell us what is going on?"

"Yes, I'm afraid the three of us must have missed something," Jasper said glaring at Alice, probably for not telling him. Emmett just stomped his foot impatiently. Alice, Edward and I looked at each other. "You two explain," I said, helping myself to my pizza.

EPOV

By Friday, I had discovered that I had completely underestimated Bella Swan in every possible way. Her personality, which I had first assumed to be cold and standoffish, I now discovered, was playful and humorous. Her skill, which I first assumed resulted from luck, was astounding. She beat me two more times. Once, I decided that while I would not let down my guard again, I would go easy on the offense, as I wanted to prove my newfound gentlemanly manners. That mistake ended with my head against the wall and stars before my eyes. She had helped me up smugly. "Save your manners for after the fight, Eddie," she said mockingly. "You know, you only won since I was being a gentleman," I said, rubbing my head.

"Yes," she replied, "but that doesn't mean that in turn, I will be a genteel woman." The second time, she had faked defeat. The only thing I remember that time was Bella tripping from trying to dodge a kick, thinking that was unusually careless of her, and my head hitting the matt before darkness took over for a few seconds. Realizing that the only way anyone stood a chance against her was to strike hard and have an impenetrable defense, on Thursday I finally fought against her for 10 minutes straight before Coach broke us up. I realized that while her strength and skill were equal to mine, it was her strategies, innovation, creativity and ability to improvise that made her an unbeatable opponent.

I had also learned that I underestimated her looks amazingly. Now that she wasn't always glaring at me, I saw that her eyes were deep pools of the warmest, melted chocolate, sparkling always with intelligence. Her skin was the most beautiful ivory, her hair putting the color of mahogany wood to shame. She didn't react to me as every other girl did, except for Alice and Rose, and even they had been slightly surprised at first. The biggest lustful reaction from her I had gotten was fake, to put me off my guard. I had also underestimated her integrity, kindness, mercy and how just she was…

On Friday afternoon, just before school began, there was a fight in the courtyard. When I went over, I sighed. It was that pale, pasty wimp Mike Newton being beat up by Jane and Alec, inseparable deadly twins. If Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, me, and now Bella were the A clique at our school, Jane and Alec were the leaders of the B clique. Though I could beat them separately, I couldn't beat them together. Wherever Jane struck left you incapacitated with pain and wherever Alec struck left you with no feeling whatsoever for at least two hours. Therefore, I went out of my way to avoid them. It was no surprise that they, the most bloodthirsty, cruel people I knew were beating up Mike, who I could beat both blindfolded and with one hand and leg tied behind my back. He only into this school because his father was exceedingly rich, and owned one of the biggest sports stores in the country. Just as I was about to leave in disgust, a movement caught my eye. A flash of mahogany, and then my mouth dropped in horror. What was she doing? Trying to get herself killed?

Bella Swan had run straight smack into the center of the circle which had formed and was shouting furiously at them. I caught words like "Two against one? Only cowards pick an unfair fight" and "pick on someone who can actually defend themselves if you want to show off." Before I knew what was happening, I had leaned in and grabbed her arm while the twins looked on, faces livid. She shook me off.

"Bella, what are you doing? I don't want to see you hurt…" My voice faltered at the scathing look she gave me. The next words she gave me stung worse than any wound she could have inflicted on my physically.

"You're no better than they are. Just because you don't want to get your pretty face hurt, you stand by uncaring while others less strong get hurt instead. Look, Edward," she said as I opened my mouth in protest, "just because _you're_ too big of a coward to stand up against an unfair fight doesn't mean _I_ am." I stepped back in shock. I wished she slapped me across the face instead. It would have hurt less. Just then, Jane struck from behind. Bella's hand snapped up, and caught Jane's in her own. Others around me stared at her in shock. That had never_, ever_ happened, especially since Bella's back was turned. Bella whipped around, twisting Jane's wrist as she did so. Jane howled in pain. Alec tried to come to his twin's aid. What happened next was undoubtedly the best kung fu fighting anyone had ever seen except maybe on T.V. Finally, Bella struck both of them on a hidden nerve-a move rarely used since it could only incapacitate your enemy for 15-20 seconds, but that was all she needed. Fingers nimbly jumping in and out, she tied the ends of Jane and Alec's shirts together so tightly that there was absolutely no left over fabric, so the twins were literally hip-to-hip, waist-to-waist, or butt-to-butt, whatever you want to call it. Moreover, the knot was so strong that until fourth period, when I saw Coach Cluck sawing through their shirts with his Ultra Powered Electric Drill (it left a huge, gaping hole in both their shirts), they could find nothing else strong enough to cut through it. I watched with amusement while they tried to cut through it with a pair of huge weed hackers, to no avail. Knot tying is usually the only topic in gym in which no one pays attention, but I guess it finally paid off, with a little improvising on Bella's part. The only thing that kept me from absolute smugness was that Bella completely ignored me for the better part of the day.

During lunch, Rosalie and Bella were talking animatedly about what had happened and Jazz and Em were laughing about how Jane and Alec's designer t-shirts were ruined, when a frazzled looking aid came up to Bella and whispered something about how the headmaster wanted to see her. I suddenly felt a protective rush come over me and now I was dead terrified for Bella, wanting more than anything to take her place since I was positive whatever the headmaster had in store for her could not be good. Which was ridiculous, since she now seemed to hate me, again. I decided that my worry, though a bit strong, was perfectly natural. After all, a friend would feel that, right?

**A/N Two important things I want to point out to you. First is Bella's reaction to an "unfair fight." You'll find out the reason why she reacted so strongly later in the story; it also has a lot more to do with her aversion to romance than her parents' divorce, but since she's tried everything to forget it, I haven't mentioned it yet. Secondly, if you read carefully, notice that Edward reacted strongly to any mentioned of the name "Elizabeth". I hope you got that small portion in the story where I mentioned she was his deceased mom. That's pretty important. Sorry, no romance yet really. Don't forget to review! Any author knows reviews are what keeps a story going.**

**P.S. That chapter was fairly longer, right?**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Hey, I would really like to know whether you prefer Edward's or Bella's POV. I haven't read the Gallagher Girl series, but it sounds interesting. Don't hate Bella for what she said to Edward, please! I assure you, she has more than enough excuse. But you don't find that out until much later. **

EPOV

Bella came back from the Headmaster's office by next period. After lunch, we all crowded around her to hear what happened.

"Oh, my, god, what did he want? You're not in trouble, are you?" Alice squealed worriedly.

"Relax, Alice," Bella said, rolling her eyes, "it's not like they're going to expel me."

"What did he want?" Rosalie repeated, impatiently.

"Well, he started out with a lecture of how violence is not tolerated at this school outside of gym. I told him that, contrarily, I believe students getting beat up at this school is a regular process." We all gasped. I couldn't believe she was still alive. She sighed at our expressions.

"He looked shocked for a moment, but went on to say because of what I did to Jane and Alec, there would be consequences. I asked him if I was about to be punished for defending myself from potential harm." Again, we all gasped. Back talking the Headmaster was unheard of. "He didn't seem too happy with my reply, and said there was no need to publicly humiliate them. I cut him off and said, 'So I am being punished for teaching them a harmless lesson that left them unscathed when they would have done far worse to me or Mike, is that correct? You say I didn't need to beat them up in front of a whole crowd of people. They seem to beat up people in front of everyone on a weekly occurrence, and yet get in no trouble. They were the ones who started the attack, ask anyone you like, and I had no choice but to strike back. Remember the philosophies of spies all over the world, "A good offense is the best defense," and to defend myself, I had to incapacitate them for a second and do something that would prevent them from lunging at my throat when they recovered control of their body.'"

"He laughed, surprisingly, and told me I had him stumped. Moreover, I would receive no punishment whatsoever, as he believed the lesson I taught the twins was long overdue. He apologized and told me in an undertone that since the parents of the twins were billionaires, and generous donators, he didn't want to offend them and so took their side. That was when I came back." Bella finished. We all stared at her in shock.

"Bella, you are undoubtedly his new favorite student." Jasper voiced what all of us had been thinking. "If you had been anyone else, you would have been on your way to the hospital by now." Bella eyed him skeptically. "Hey, it's true."

"Life is so unfair!" Emmett broke in suddenly. "How come she gets to be his favorite student? Now, see, if _I _were the old guy's favorite…" he broke off dreamily. During this time, I noticed Bella never once looked in my direction. It wasn't like this morning, a cold, deliberate silence, but more awkward on her part. Whenever I would try to catch her eye, she looked down and a light pink stained her otherwise pale cheeks. Later during eighth period, I saw her in the hallway, and waved, but she immediately turned in the other direction. She didn't seem mad, not at all anymore, but more ashamed. I was determined to find out what was wrong, so when the last bell ended and everyone left to go home for the week, I caught up with Bella as she walked to the driver's side of her truck to get in and grabbed her arm. I could tell by the way she stiffened that she knew it was me.

"What do you want, Edward?" she asked.

"Bella, you haven't seemed alright since you came back from the Headmaster's office. Is everything ok?"

"Why do you care? After I was being such a total bitch?" She glanced up at me quickly, before hurriedly looking back down at her feet, but it was enough for me to see that her eyes glittered with unshed tears. Bella fell silent. I got in her passenger seat.

"What the heck are you doing?" she asked me. "If you haven't noticed, your car is over _there_."

"I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong," I said, folding my arms across my chest. She sighed.

"If you must know, it's about you."

"What's about me?" I said, turning to look at her, completely nonplussed.

"How can you just sit there and make conversation with me? After what I yelled at you this morning? You were only trying to help, make sure I didn't get myself killed, and I called you a coward. I'm a horrible person." She moaned softly, head dropping down to look at her knees. I gently lifted her chin up with my pointer finger, forcing her to look at me.  
"Listen Bella, and listen good: you couldn't be a horrible person if you tried. In case you haven't noticed, it was you who saved Mike's day. I was the one who hung back."

"See, but that's the problem," she explained, "you're so…freaking nice to me. You'd forgive me without a second thought, and that only makes me feel more awful."

"Aw, Bella," I said, reaching over and hugging her. She relaxed, and sighed.

"If you don't mind telling me," I said, after she pulled away, "why were you so upset? I've bet you've seen worse things than some wimpy kid getting beat up in front of a school."

"You have no idea," she muttered, more to herself than me. I waited patiently, but she slowly shook her head. "I'll tell you sometime, but not right her, not right now. That's a story for another time." She seemed troubled for a moment but quickly shook her head as if to empty her head of all dark thoughts and smiled. "Well, Edward, I'm seeing drastic improvements in your character. It's beyond the comprehensibility of the mind to understand how this Edward who forgives people so easily is the same Edward I knew last Friday." She teased. I narrowed my eyes in mock anger. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, reaching over and mussing up her hair. She drew back.

"Hey, no messing up the hair, and I mean it! You touch the hair, you die," she said.

"Is that so?" I said reaching over to mess up her hair again.

"Oh, no you didn't," she said, her hair now resembling a chicken's. She leaped over and before I knew it, my own gorgeous hair now resembled a scarecrow's. Our see-who-can-mess-up-the-other-person's-hair-better match was cut short by the arrival of my annoying sister. Alice fairly gawked at us in shock.

"What have you two been _doing_?" She asked, staring at both of our heads, or more specifically, our mussed up hair. I suddenly realized what it looked like, with both of us flushed and our hair in disarray, in Bella's car. Bella apparently realized this too, as she blushed bright red. "Well, you see, we were here and Edward was forgiving me for my rudeness this morning, and he mussed up my hair and naturally I had to mess up his hair too, in revenge. That's when you came along."

"Oh," Alice seemed disappointed for a second. "You two sure you weren't confessing your feelings of true love to each other?"

"God, Alice, no!" Bella said, laughing. I started laughing too. The idea of us _together_ together was downright hilarious. Alice seemed very put down for a second.

"Well, either way, I think you two would be adorable together. And Bella?" Alice said, as I got out of the truck and headed to our Volvo with her, "I want you to know that you have my full permission to date my brother." I could have smacked her right then, but I was too busy laughing at Bella's tomato red face.

**A/N Ah, well, this chapter wasn't my best, but the next one will be good! It involves a Halloween party, love (sort of) on Edward's side, and Tinkerbell dating General Stonewall Jackson.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoy writing it. Most of this is going to be in Bella's POV. Bella's POV is more fun to write in, but Edward's is easier. Send me some feedback, like always! Preferably over two or three words. This is going to be a really long chapter, and I think I deserve over 3 reviews! Thanks to all the people who put me as FS, SA or reviewed.**

BPOV

"Bella, please stop laughing," Alice sighed, "I'm not joking, honestly."

When Alice had first told me the news about a Halloween ball at the school she wanted us all to attend 30 seconds ago, I really thought she was kidding, and so burst out in laughter. Why anyone would want to go to a dance in a stupid costume was beyond me. However, my laughter now faded as I realized that, in fact, she was not kidding. "You're not serious?"

"Yes, I am," Alice squealed, now that I had calmed down, "It's next Friday from 7:30 to 11.00." Three and a half hours of torture.

"How did you get the Headmaster to agree with this?"

"Oh, I told him that we would blend together better with the real world if we experienced some things other teens would now be experiencing."

"And he fell for that?" I asked in disbelief. Alice laughed.

"Yep! We're going shopping for costumes this weekend."

"What are we in again? Second grade?" I snorted. She smacked my arm.

"Aww, don't be like that, Bella. It'll be fun!" I just shook my head. Alice clearly was not discouraged easily.

"Who else is coming?" I asked, resigned. Alice clapped her hands together, thrilled. "To the dance or with us shopping?"

"Both," I replied.

"Well I've pretty much persuaded everyone in the school to go to the dance, and Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Edward are going shopping with us. The boys have already got their costumes, they're just coming to offer feedback and because I told them to."

"Was I the last person to find out? Really, Alice? It's nice to know you treat me so well." I said, grumpily. Alice ignored me. Mentally, I prepared myself for the ordeal ahead of me.

Okay, so I made the understatement of my life when I said ordeal. It was more like embarrassing torture to go shopping with Alice. We drove to the nearest place with an acceptable Halloween store. We could have just gone to Wal-Mart, but no, we had to drive two and a half hours for some store that specialized in these costumes. To me, that seemed like a dumb idea. What do they sell after Halloween is over? Bunny costumes for Easter?

Anyway, when I walked in the store, my jaw dropped. Never in my life have I seen so many costumes. Alice immediately dragged me off to the teenage petite section. Rose followed.

"So who are we going to pick costumes for first?" Rose asked, laughing as Alice jumped up and down with a hand shot up like an overeager first grader, shouting, "Me, me, oh please, me!"

"Okay, Bella, you start on that side of the rack, I'll start on this side, and Alice can start over there. Pick out anything you think would fit this psycho here," Rose winked at me. I grinned back.

"So what do we guys do?" Emmett asked in a bored voice.

"Shut up and wait till we get back," Rose shot back. Emmett grinned.

I hurried down the aisle, ruling out anything that was 1.) longer than 4 feet 10 inches, which was Alice's height, 2.) way too short 3.) incredibly geeky or ugly. I came back with a Tinkerbell costume, a devil costume (not because I liked it, but because I thought it would fit Alice's personality perfectly) and a mermaid costume. Alice was already there, arms full of costumes herself. However, when she saw the Tinkerbell costume she threw her costumes at poor Jasper and squealed, pointing at it.

"OMG, that's the one! It's awesome! Holy cow, Bella, I didn't know you had this much taste!"

"Oh, gee, thanks," I said sarcastically, "but at least try on the devil one first. It fits you perfectly." Alice shot me a glare, while Emmett, Jasper and Edward all laughed.

"Hardy har har, Bella," she said, but her excitement overcame her annoyance at me, for she snatched it out of my arms and sprinted into the fitting rooms. Rosalie finally showed up, arms empty.

"I knew she would love that Tinkerbell costume as soon as I saw you take it off the shelf, so I didn't bother getting any for her," she shrugged in reply to my questioning look. "Anyway, I may want to check out that devil costume in my size. It's sexy all the way." At this moment, Alice came out of the fitting rooms, practically radiating energy. The cute sparkling green costume, yellow slippers, fake wand and Alice's effervescent personality went together perfectly. Other shoppers stared, and the Emmett and Edward both whistled. Jasper clapped.

"That looks freaking amazing on you, Alice," Rosalie said, almost reverently.

"Yes, looks like my taste in clothes finally paid off," I said, teasingly.

"Looks like I have everyone's approval, including my own. Rosalie, you can go next." Alice said as happy as a kid on Christmas Day.

"I already know which one I want," Rose replied. Hurrying down the aisle, she grabbed the devil one and ran into the fitting rooms. When she came out, I heard Emmett let out a gasp. We stared at her in shock. Holy crap, she looked hot. She wore a thin red headband which her golden hair matched perfectly, the top was strapless and glittering red, revealed a bit of belly and the bottom was a matching red skirt with black tights underneath. She had a devil's tail and a devil's pitchfork and was absolutely stunning.

"Rose…you look…" I couldn't think of anything to describe her. The others nodded in agreement. "You like it?" Rosalie asked, sounding shy for once.

"Heck, yeah! That's my girl," Emmett said, going over and kissing her passionately. I averted my eyes, and Edward laughed. "You're so innocent Bella, maybe I should find you an angel costume." I glared at him.

"Bella's turn!" Alice sang out. I sighed and braced myself.

I wish I could say that, like my two best friends, I instantly found a costume that fit me perfectly. However, that would be lying. First I tried on this costume, then that one. The mermaid was ok, until I tripped over my own tail. Edward, Jazz and Em laughed hysterically. Edward, true to his word, found me an angel costume. I looked like I was ten. After about ten more costumes including a cat (too revealing) a bee (too slutty) and a pirate (too stupid), Rose and Alice brought me a princess costume. At first, I refused to try it on. I mean, a princess, really? However, when I looked in the changing room mirror, I was surprised. The gown was a shimmering silver blue material. The dress had a sweetheart neckline, and clung to my body while flowing down, making it seem almost fluid. My dark slightly wavy hair complemented the silver fake-diamond-and-moonstone tiara perfectly. And best of all? The silver shoes that came with it were flats. I decided that no matter what my friends said, this was the costume for me. When I stepped out, there was a gasp, then silence. I blushed and looked down. Simultaneously, they all burst into applause.

"OMG, I am so jealous, you look amazing!" Alice said.

"That's the one alright," Rose nodded.

"You look every bit a princess," Jasper said. I smiled shyly.

"Finally Bella! I thought we were going to be here all night before you found a costume!" Emmett laughed.

"You look beautiful." I was shocked. Did Edward Cullen seriously just call me beautiful? I looked up at him. His clear deep emerald green eyes were staring intensely into mine. For the first time, I noticed his eyes had flecks of gold in them. Embarrassingly enough, my own eyes widened infinitesimally. Lucky for me no one noticed.

"Wow, Edward, I'm flattered. That's got to be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." I said, smiling widely. He opened his mouth to reply, but Emmett interrupted him.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving. Let's pay and go to lunch!"

I really don't know why I was stupid enough to let Alice and Rose do my make up and hair for the dance, but I do know I regretted it. I had to sit through a full hour of torture, but I couldn't really argue with the results. My hair was pulled back into an elegant knot, but they left a lock of my wavy hair to curl down and frame my face. The tiara rested gently on my hair. My eyelashes looked longer, thanks to the mascara, but not too fake. My eyelids were a shimmering periwinkle that matched my dress. I looked, in all honesty, the best I have ever looked in my life. Not that my friends looked any less awesome. Alice was prettier than any Disney Tinkerbell I'd ever seen. Rose looked even more sexy than usual, and that was saying something.

"Where are the guys?" I asked.

"They'll meet us at the school," Rose said, "They wanted their costumes to be a surprise.

"Ok, ok, we can chit chat later, but right now, we've got to go!" Alice said, looking at her watch. Scrambling into Alice's car, we made it to the school in record time. We found Edward, Jazz and Em quickly, all you had to do was follow the trail of star struck girls. When I saw them, I nearly bust a gut laughing. At first, I didn't recognize Jasper, as his face was nearly entirely hidden by a gigantic beard. Alice's jaw dropped. Her boyfriend was wearing a gray confederate civil war uniform, with a sword.

"Let me guess, you're General Stonewall Jackson?" I asked.

"Yes, see Emmett, _someone_ knows who I am," Jazz said, smugly. Emmett rolled his eyes. "Yes, but only because you have a nametag pinned to your costume." I looked closer at Emmett, who was dressed in a Superman costume. I shook my head, smiling. Rose, who seemed to be having similar thoughts to mine, sighed, "Only you, Emmett, only you would think to dress up like an idiot."

"But you love me anyway," Emmett said, grinning. As for Edward, I couldn't really tell what he was, surrounded as he was by girls. I caught a glimpse of him looking irritated arguing with a very persistent, deluded looking girl.

"I would go," Jazz whispered to me, "this could get ugly."

"Agreed," I said, heading into the gym. The gym was entirely transformed with orange and black streamers everywhere. It was already crowded with people. I looked around, and headed toward the food table. Unfortunately, I never got that far, when a hand tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to find a pasty, slightly pudgy blond boy dressed as Jack Sparrow. On closer inspection, I realized he was the guy who'd almost gotten himself beaten up by the evil twins.

"Um, Bella, would you like to dance with me?" He asked nervously. I groaned inwardly-even if I did like a type of guy, he would not be in the category. However, he looked so hopeful, nervous, and downright pathetic that I couldn't find the heart to turn him down. "Sure," I said, in a fake cheery voice, trying to remember his name. I think it started with an "M". During the song, I tried to ignore the fact that his palms were sweaty, and the strong smell of sweat and cologne emanating from him, not to mention the beads of spit that gathered at the edges of his mouth when he talked. He didn't notice, and chattered on and on about himself, and how pretty I was. I eventually tuned him out, but was brought back to earth when he asked, "Would you like to go out with me on Saturday?"

"Um, Mike, I really don't know, I'm kind of busy," I fibbed.

"That's all right," he breathed, leaning in closer. I was saved by a familiar velvet voice. "Newton, would you mind if I borrowed Bella for a moment?" Sure enough, Edward Cullen's green eyes were staring at me, and he was smirking, dressed in a vampire costume.

EPOV

I had finally disentangled myself from Heidi. I was looking around for Bella when I saw her on the dance floor, expression slightly disgusted, with Mike Newton of all people. Mike started leaning in, and I decided I'd better intervene before he went too far.

"Newton, would you mind if I borrowed Bella for a moment?" I said, smirking slightly at Bella's relieved expression as I pulled her away with me, ignoring Mike's furious expression.

"Thanks for rescuing me, Edward," Bella said lightly, "I was in a very awkward situation."

"I noticed. I have to admit, I didn't expect you of all people to turn into a damsel in distress so quickly," I said, taking a bite out of a pumpkin pie, and then grimacing. It tasted like crap.

"This pie is disgusting," I said, throwing it away.

"You shouldn't waste perfectly good food, Edward," Bella chastised me.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it?" I taunted. In reply, she grabbed a fake wand that was lying on the nearest table. Brandishing it like a sword at me, she cried, "Bibbidi bobbidi boo, I turn you into pumpkin goo!" The only thing she managed to turn me into was a laughing maniac. "Rats, it didn't work," she pouted.

"Pumpkin goo, Bella? Really?" I smirked.

"You're lucky I didn't turn you into doggie doo."

"You're such a kid, sometimes."

"Childhood is short, and maturity is forever, so I'm trying to make my childhood last while it can." I just shook my head.

"Hey, do you want to dance?" I asked, changing the subject. She looked shocked before hesitating. "I don't really like to dance in front of people."

"No problem," I said, grabbing her hand, "follow me." I pulled her through the crowd and up the stairs to a hideout I had found when I first came here.

"The roof? Really?" Bella asked me. I just grinned, as I pulled her through the window. The night sky really was breathtaking out here, high enough so no trees could block our view of the stars. The music from the gym drifted softly up and as I twirled her around, she laughed. "We must be a sight, a vampire and a princess dancing together."

"We don't look any weirder than Tinkerbell and Stonewall Jackson, or the devil and Superman together," I countered.

"True," she allowed, and that was the last either of us said for a while. As I dipped her, her head fell back, and the moonlight illuminated her face, her tiara glittering, and her eyes shone with effervescence, her entire being radiant. How could I have ever thought she was plain? I wondered. At the same time, a memory came back to me. I was about seven, and Mom had taken me to see Romeo and Juliet. I recalled the scene in which Romeo first sees Juliet and falls in love with her. A line ran through my head- _"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night." _Why that memory came into my head at a Halloween ball of all places I would only realize much later: it was at that moment that I truly fell hopelessly in love with Bella Swan.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Warning: Do not expect Bella to fall in love anytime soon. She's not like the Bellas in other fanfics. It'll take her a while, as in probably another five chapters. Don't be mad at me! I've got this all planned out…mostly. Read and review, like always! **

EPOV

Unfortunately for me, she obviously did not like me back-at least, not in _that_ way. Not that I expected her to-I'd only known her for about two months. Still, it was frustrating that I seemed to have absolutely no effect over. It was absurd, pathetic really, that the one girl I actually really do want to dazzle is the one girl who is completely immune to my charm. Seriously though, the girl probably didn't even know the concept of lust. She never once looked a guy over, unless she was faking it. So instead, I spent my time getting to know her.

BPOV

I don't know why, but it seems that ever since the Halloween ball, Edward was acting really strange around me. Alice and Rose seem to know why-when I asked them about it, they exchanged a knowing look- but they won't give me a clue. Rose just said sympathetically, "Don't worry about it, Bella. I promise it's not anything bad. You'll know, eventually." But ever since that, it's like every time Edward is around, either Emmett, Jasper, Rose or Alice would try to get us alone. Sometimes it seems like everyone in the school knows something that I don't.

EPOV

Today we were swimming in gym. All through first period, Emmett kept taunting me relentlessly, saying things like, "I hear brunettes like to see guys in Speedos," and "I wonder what Bella will be wearing today-do you think she'd look better in a red or a blue bikini?" Because of this, and other frustrations, I was in a horrible temper by the time gym started. Unsurprisingly, Bella was the one girl in gym class wearing a classic one piece simple blue swimsuit, but I couldn't help thinking how hot it looked on her, how her ivory skin stood out against it and illuminated all her curves. I didn't even glance at all the other girls throwing themselves at me in the skimpy bikinis, and glaring at Bella. Of course, at this moment she has to look up and see me staring at her. I flushed.

"What are you looking at, Edward? Never seen a woman in a swimming suit before?" she teased. To make things worse, Emmett has to hear and saunter over.

"Nah, he's probably just wishing you were in a bikini instead. I'll bet he's envisioning it right now," Emmett winked at me. My cheeks were burning. Why oh why does the one time I really need a smart, witty comeback is the one time I can't come up with one? Thankfully Bella came to my rescue. Sort of.

"Aw, Emmett, leave Eddie alone, he's blushing," she said mockingly. "Besides, you know that's not true. We both know that the great Edward Cullen would never look twice at someone like me. His pride would never let him live it down." With that, she dove effortlessly into the pool. If only she knew, I thought, if only she knew how wrong she was.

After a 400 yard warm up, Coach told us to get out of the pool. I wasn't oblivious to the fact that all the girls were staring at my dripping, gorgeous form. All except one girl, that is. Bella caught my eye, and, creeping up behind Emmett, she tripped him. He fell and slipped, sliding straight back into the pool. As Bella, laughing, held out her arm to help him out, Em grinned and grabbed it, yanking her into the pool too. When Bella resurfaced, she came up with a mouthful of water, and spat it into his face. I burst out laughing at the look of absolute shock on his face.

"Oh boy, are you going to get it," Emmett said, grinning evilly, but before he could do anything, Coach Cluck called them both out of the water.

"Okay, one of the main parts of being a spy is to be able to protect a victim. I want you all to split into groups of three. One person will be a criminal, one will be a victim, and someone will be the spy, or hero, trying to save the victim from drowning." Immediately both Emmett and I were surrounded by girls.

"Eddie, be my partner. You can rescue me," Lauren begged, pouting. Somewhere to my left, I saw Bella sitting on a diving block, alone. No surprise there-all the boys were afraid of her. I grinned when I saw her miming throwing up. She waved to both me and Emmett. "Hey, Em! Edward! Over here!" she called out. I saw Emmett extract himself from his crowd of admirers, saying "Sorry, Babe, I'm taken. He grabbed me and together we made out way to Bella. I had to smile at the looks of jealousy, hatred and disbelief the girls were all aiming at Bella. If looks could kill, we'd be planning Bella's funeral right now.

"Okay, I want to be criminal," Emmett announced.  
"I call hero," I said, leaving victim to Bella. She glared daggers at both of us.

"Why am I victim? Have you two forgotten that I beat both of you at least three times?" Bella whined.

"So that makes it an unfair fight, and whoever heard of a girl rescuing a guy?" I asked. "Eddie actually has a point for once. We'll go first!" Emmett yelled to Coach Cluck. To Bella, he said, "Get in the water and try to look weak." Bella complied unwillingly. Emmett slid in and I slid in as the rest of the class gathered around. Emmett grabbed Bella and pulled her down, like he was trying to drown her, with little success. Bella was taking the role of panicked victim to extremes, such as pulling Emmett's hair and punching him in the stomach. These weren't moves that were taught, just moves anyone panicked could come up with. She also punched me in the eye, to my surprise. In the end, no one succeeded. She truly was impossible to subdue, writhing so quickly, fists hitting every bit of skin she could reach, kicking to keep herself up. When Emmett grabbed one of her flailing arms, her other hand would poke him in the eye. When Coach Cluck finally blew the whistle ten minutes later, both Emmett and I climbed out, covered in bruises. Emmett had a black eye and a bloody nose and my lip was bleeding. Bella was virtually unharmed.

"Bella, I thought you were supposed to play the victim?" Coach Cluck asked.

"Yes, why were you punching me? I was supposed to rescue you," I said, annoyed.

"I played the part of victim perfectly. I panicked, and my body naturally tried to defend itself. To answer your question, Edward, how are you supposed to get someone to understand that you're trying to help them? For all I knew, you could have been just another threat to me. I was trying to make the situation as realistic as possible." Bella answered. Coach Cluck sighed.

"Swan, you are undoubtedly the most original and interesting student I have ever had," he said, before leaving to take an Advil. "Class dismissed. I need a nap." Emmett was in a sour mood. He couldn't believe that both he and I together couldn't take down a girl whose moves consisted mainly of biting, kicking, punching, pulling, and scratching. Bella was in a bad mood since she had again become the top celebrity of Avalon High. When she didn't come to lunch, a concerned Alice had me look for her. I found her on the roof, where we'd danced on Halloween. She was looking into the distance, eye's glassy. She was listening to her ipod nano, so didn't hear me walk up behind her. When I sat down next to her and gently called her name, she jumped, and took her earphones out.

"Hey, what are you doing up here?" she asked.

"That's exactly what I was going to ask you," I answered. She sighed.

"I don't know…everyone was looking at me kind of weird, or asking about how I beat two of the best fighters in the school and I decided I needed some space." We were silent for a while. Then I asked, "What are you listening to?"

"Fireflies, by Owl City. I love that band-all their songs are so calm, quiet and soothing. I listen to them when I've had a bad day."

"Is that your favorite band?" I asked. She shrugged, "Probably. My favorite songs by them are Fireflies, Vanilla Twilight, and On the Wing. The type of music I like depends on the mood I'm in. Mostly I like classical, but I think pop music is ok." We sat there for a moment, looking at the vast plains before us, when she stood up. "I should be going back to class." She bent down and placed a light kiss on my cheek. "Thanks. You've miraculously cheered me up. You're a good friend, Edward." She left, leaving me sitting there, a tingly feeling in my cheek where her lips, just seconds ago, had been.

**A/N I'm sorry nothing really important happened in this chapter. It was just really fun to write it, with Bella spitting in Emmett's face and all. If you did or didn't like it doesn't really matter-just tell me what you think of it! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N Please, reviews make my day and offer inspiration so that I can update faster! So please review! In this chapter things will seem to go slow but actually are very, very important. It offers an important clue to Bella's past.**

BPOV

In my dream, I was thirteen years old again.

"_Bella, OMG! You look stunning!" Leah squealed._

"_Totally, Bella, James is gonna want to eat you up," Emily giggled. I smiled at the thought of James. He was my crush for two years and now he'd finally asked me out on a date. Who wouldn't like him? Dirty blond hair, hazel eyes, football star, you name it. I was wearing skinny dark jeans with my favorite red Abercrombie shirt. The doorbell rang._

_ "Hey, Bella," James smiled at me beneath his mop of messy hair. "You look awesome." I giggled lightly. Dinner went by too fast. His parents dropped us off at this fancy restaurant, and told us to have fun, chuckling lightly to themselves about first love. After dinner, we decided to go for a walk around Port Angeles before calling it a night. We stopped at a bookstore, but didn't go inside or buy anything, just stopped and chatted. It was getting late, so we decided to go back to the coffee shop where James' parents would pick us up. Somewhere along the way, James made a wrong turn and we ended up in a dark alley. _

_ "James, I don't like this," I said nervously to him, looking over my shoulder. Was it just my imagination, or were those two figures following us? _

_ "It's okay. Don't look back." James' walking sped up. Suddenly another three people popped us ahead of us, smiling eerily at us, no, _me_. It was pretty clear what they wanted. They looked about in their late teens or early adulthood. James stepped in front of me. I felt a strange sense of relief and confidence spread through me. James wouldn't let them hurt me. I trusted him. That sense of security soon left, as one of the men looked down at James and said in a bored voice, "Aww…are you going to risk your life for your girlfriend? How romantic." He stepped closer and struck James across the face, before pummeling him over and over again. I was too stunned even to scream. The bravado on James' face was replaced by a look of pure terror. _

_ "Stop…please. Don't hurt me!" He flinched as the man raised his fist again. "Please…you can have her. I won't say a word, I promise. Just don't kill me!" I looked at him in horror, as the man hesitated. "Awright…I'll let you go this one time. And don't breathe a word of this to anybody, you understand?" He snarled, and James leapt back. "Yes, sir," he nodded desperately. "Anything you want…just don't hurt me!"_

_ "James…"I croaked. He didn't even look at me, and hurriedly walked away as fast as he could, never looking back. I just stared at his retreating back, hopelessness and a sense of betrayal engulfing me as the figures closed in._

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. _It was just a dream, Bella,_ I reminded myself, even through I knew perfectly well it was so much more than a dream. It was a memory.

I decided I needed some air. I looked at the clock. 5:30. No one was going to be looking for me anytime soon. I quickly changed into a white tank and a pair of black Adidas shorts and grabbed my ipod. Running had always been an effective way of relieving my body of stress, so I headed straight for the jogging track behind the school. When I got there, I turned on my ipod, and then looked with disgust at the song that was playing. It was Sweet Dreams by Beyonce. Sweet dreams, indeed, I thought dryly before changing the song. I smiled as the first notes of Don't Stop Believin' came on. '_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world…'_

After a few laps, I felt like I memorized the length of the track, so I closed my eyes, losing myself in the music and my even breathing as I jogged around and around. However, in the middle of 'Stop and Stare', I bumped into something hard, and landed on my bottom, the breath knocked out of me. Had I miscounted the steps I took and ran into a tree? Instead of facing the green leaves of a tree, I looked into the green eyes of Edward Cullen.

EPOV

I was going out for my daily morning jog, when I saw that someone was already on the track. That surprised me, for no one else I knew would be out at 6:00 a.m. The person was sprinting at a pace that surprised me. On closer inspection, the person turned out to be Bella Swan. I rolled my eyes inwardly. Bella was already perfect in every other way, why not add being able to run like an Olympic track runner to the list? As I stepped on the track, she bumped into me. I wasn't surprised-her eyes were closed for some unfathomable reason.

"Hey, what are you doing out here at this ungodly hour?" I asked, offering her my hand to help her up. As she took it, the sensation of her hand in mine gave me goosebumps and I shivered.

BPOV

"Hey, what are you doing out here at this ungodly hour?" Edward asked me, helping me get up.

"I should be asking you the same question," I answered.

"I come out here every morning," he replied.

"I came out because I felt like it," I said. I couldn't help but notice how he was always so impeccably neat, hair always done in the same way, and that nothing, not even being out at 6:00 could faze him, which was more than could be said for me, my face red from the exercise, my hair a mess.

"Well, since I interrupted your morning jog, I'll make it up for you by getting you coffee," I said, pulling him along to the school cafeteria. He looked surprised, but accepted. As we sat inside sipping our coffee I saw a girl and a guy making out in the opposite corner of the cafeteria. I made a face. "I just lost my appetite," I said, gesturing towards the couple. They were approaching second base by now. Edward laughed.

"Do you always feel such an aversion to physical love?" He asked. "I mean, every time Alice and Jazz kiss, or Rose and Emmett do their thing, you look away. I swear, you are the most chaste and pure seventeen year old girl I have ever met."

"Do you have a problem with that?" I asked, slightly affronted.

"No…I'm just curious. And along that line of thought, I was wondering….have you ever fell in love with someone?" I sighed. True confessions with Edward Cullen in a cafeteria. I couldn't believe how low I'd sunk.

"If you count a crush in seventh and another in eighth grade love, then yes," I answered. "But since then, no."

"May I ask why?"

"My parents divorced. I didn't want to go through what they did." I gave him half the truth. "Oh." He said. We went back to sipping our coffee. Then, "Have you ever kissed a boy?"

"What's with all the questions?" I asked, smiling. When he looked down, embarrassed, I said, "No, I haven't." He looked up, shocked.  
"How can someone like you never kissed a guy? Didn't any boys like you?"

"Ok, I think we're done with the questions now." I said, standing up to leave. Then I hesitated. "What about you, Edward? Have you ever fallen truly, unbelievable, head over heels in love?" I expected the answer to be no. But he surprised me again.

"Yes…twice," he said, quietly, so quietly I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear or not. The look he gave me after that was so intense, it made me squirm a little. It was only back at my dorm that I realized why. The look reminded me of the way Jazz looked at Alice and the way Emmett looked at Rose. His eyes were soft, and intense, and his expression was tender and I thought I detected a trace of adoration, of love…

"No…it can't be," I whispered to myself. He _can't_ love me… can he? I was so immersed in my thoughts that I almost didn't notice Alice until she was right in front of me, squealing like a little kid.

"Guess what, Bella? We're taking a road trip!"

**A/N I promise the next chapter will be interesting! Remember, the more reviews I get the sooner I update! Sorry this chapter was short…**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N Please continue reading and REVIEW!!!!!! Aw, Bella's so innocent! It's really cute.**

BPOV

"Where are we going again, Alice?" I asked, exasperated, as the mad pixie hopped around the room gathering things and throwing them into my open suitcase. It was Friday, just after school had let out, Alice had already attained Charlie's permission, and I still had no idea where I was going for the next two days.

"Forks!" she squealed. The name rang a bell, but I couldn't put my finger on where I'd heard the name before.

"You know, I've been waiting to go visit Mommy and Daddy forever, and now I've decided to go pay a surprise visit. You will be coming too, of course, since La Push is only about 20 miles away, and it will be a good time to have a reunion with your friends there," Alice explained. I grinned, now sharing Alice's enthusiasm and excitement completely. I couldn't wait to go see Emily, Leah, and Jake. I joined Alice bouncing around the room and two hours and 17 minutes later, we were ready.

We all piled into Emmett's huge jeep. We'd already gotten the headmaster's permission to leave our cars here for the weekend. It took us several tries and several curses from Emmett to get all our suitcases into the trunk. As Jasper drove, the rest of us played truth or dare. Actually, only truth, since dare in a moving jeep could be deadly.

"Okay, Alice," Rosalie said, "tell the truth. Have you ever gone all the way with Jasper?"

Alice blushed furiously, rare for her. "Yes," and blushed even harder. I gaped at her. Emmett laughed, "Looks like the pixie isn't as innocent as she'd like us to think." Edward just glared at Jasper.

"Okay, Emmett," Alice said, anxious to turn the attention away from her, "who's the first girl you ever slept with?" Emmett glanced nervously at Rose, who was staring back with eyes as hard as stone, and as cold as ice. "Um, well, it was….Heidi Volturi. Not that she was anything compared to you, of course," Em added quickly, flinching from Rose's glare.

"Heidi?! You slept with that _bitch?_ Rose practically screamed. I just rolled my eyes. What was it with the sex talk? As if to prove my point, Emmett asked me, "What's the farthest base _you've_ gone to, Bella?" He smirked, confident in my utter embarrassment. There was no doubt in his mind that I had gone as far as the rest of them. Sure enough, I was embarrassed, but not in the way he'd thought I would be. I blushed, before stuttering, "I haven't even gone to first." Edward just grinned at me, but the others all stared at me in shock. "Holy cow, Bella, you're still, you know, a…" Rose asked me in awe. "Virgin, I know," I said.

"Heck, she hasn't even gotten her first kiss yet!" Em laughed boisterously.

"We're going to have to change that," Alice said thoughtfully.

"Don't get any ideas, Alice," I warned. She just laughed. So that was basically how we spent the rest of the car ride.

After about another 5 hours, I began to feel uneasy. It was like a gut instinct, but I couldn't tell why I was feeling this way. After we passed a sign that said 'Port Angeles-15 miles' I felt the first stirrings of dread. "Jasper, where are we going?" I asked, nervously.

"Well, there's still another two hours of driving, and it's getting late, so I thought we'd stop here for the night. Jasper smiled at me. I glanced at my watch. 10:00.

"Besides, this will be fun! Port Angeles is a gorgeous city and I've always wanted to go to one of their night clubs," Rose said, encouragingly. I felt nothing but a dull horror, growing sharper with each mile that pulled me closer to the city. Port Angeles, a.k.a. City of Hell, or Place of all Nightmares. _Brace yourself, Bella_ I commanded myself, _it's going to be a long night. _

"Alice, what have you done to me?" I gasped. Alice had insisted on going to a night club and had forced me to come too. Only the fact that the stores were all closed had deterred her from going shopping. She had dressed me casually, but I still hated my outfit. I looked great, but still. Alice had made me put on a fuzzy white furry sweater, with tight dark blue jeans, and my hair was up. But I never looked more…weak. Vulnerable. An angry kitty could look more threatening than I did at that moment. The white sweater made my skin seem luminous, but also frail. The jeans made my legs look thinner and longer and, well, about as strong as a water bug's. The makeup on my face made my eyes seem wider and fawnlike. And the heels, thin strappy two inch high ones, completely handicapped me. I looked amazing, but absolutely hated how breakable I looked. But I had to put on a strong face, to escape any suspicion. As my legs almost buckled with fear as I walked to the window, looking out at the city that had haunted me for so long, I thought bitterly, _Ha, good luck with that. But with a little luck, which I obviously do not have, maybe I can live through the night._

APOV

I was a genius. There was simply no other word for it. I knew that my brother loved her, and felt slightly protective of her, even if he didn't know it yet. All I had to do was dress Bella in an outfit that would bring out his protective side, make both of them fall in love with each other, and everything would be perfect. She was good for him and I knew it, and the outfit I'd put her in was absolutely perfect for the scenario I had in mind.

Of course, back then I didn't know how much I would regret this decision later on.

EPOV

When I saw Bella, my jaw about hit the floor. She looked gorgeous, but also like a different person. Alice had brought out a less protected side of Bella, the Bella behind her armor and shield, and I absolutely loved it.

Bella, however, clearly did not love it. I saw her glare daggers at Alice nearly the entire ride on the way to the club. However, her glares lacked much of the venom that was usually in them. She seemed distracted, paranoid almost, stealing glances outside the car window. When we finally arrived, she kept glancing over her shoulders, and then back again quickly, as if she was afraid there were people following us, but was terrified of getting caught. I also noticed that her shoulders twitched slightly at every little sound, and she flinched every time someone spoke to her. In the five minutes it took for us to get from the parking lot to the club, I was getting extremely worried. Jasper also noticed.

"Bella, are you all right? You're acting a little tense." Jazz asked her. Her doe-like eyes widened, and she seemed to shrink a little, like a kid who'd been caught doing something bad.

"Oh! No, I'm fine, perfectly fine! Why would you say that?" Her voice was high, bordering on the edge of hysteria. "I'm just a little tired! Don't worry about me!" she chirped. Jasper looked unconvinced, but Emmett, who had overheard us, strutted over and flung his huge arm around her frail shoulders. I couldn't help noticing that she jumped a little and let out a tiny yelp. He didn't notice, as he boomed, "Little Bella here is probably just nervous about attending her first night club!" Bella winced. Maybe I was imagining things and maybe it was just the angle Alice portrayed her at, but I had a bad feeling Bella's emotions right now were even more uncontrolled than they appeared on the outside and that Bella's worries were a lot more serious than just being nervous for her first nightclub.

When we entered, I thought poor Bella would pass out. Her face seemed even paler against the flashing lights, and her eyes widened at the blaring music coming from the speakers. She just stood in the doorway for a moment, completely shell shocked before pulling herself together, and coming inside. I was almost immediately snatched up by a girl in a way too low strapless shirt, but managed to whisper to Jasper, "Keep an eye on Bella. I'm worried about her; she just isn't herself today." He nodded in understanding. After about a hour and a half of forced dancing with extremely indecently dressed girls whose faces kept blurring together in my mind, 2 or 3 cups of spiked punch, and a slight headache, I finally found Bella again. She was arguing with a boy with curly brown hair, who clearly wanted to get into her pants. Her movements were even jerkier than before, and her nerves were clearly stretched to the breaking point. I walked up to him, and said smoothly, "I'm sorry, is there a problem here?" Bella looked up at me with blank eyes, not seeming to even recognize me for a moment, but then her body relaxed fractionally in relief. "What's it to you?" He asked rudely.

"That's my girlfriend you're talking to, so naturally that makes it my business," I said, grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her away. "Thanks," she muttered.

"No problem," I replied. I didn't tell her the real reason I pulled her away-she thought it was because I was just looking out for her, like I might look out for Rose, or Alice. The real reason was that I could tell she was just barely keeping herself together, and was not even remotely in control of her emotions or her body. If I didn't intervene before the boy made her snap, it could cost the guy his life.

I found Alice, Jazz, Emmett and Rose quickly and told them I thought it was time to leave. My excuse was that Bella wasn't feeling too good, and that I had an awful headache. However, none of them wanted to go back to the apartment straight away, but thought some fresh air could help my headache, and so Alice suggested taking a tour of the city. Was it my imagination, or did Bella's eyes widen infinitesimally with fear?

It was about 1:00 at night, but all of us had gone to sleep much later. A spy has to be able to be away for at least 48 hours straight as part of his training. There were barely any people out, and almost all the stores were closed. However, Alice really wanted some coffee, and there was a bookstore with a Starbucks inside it a few meters ahead where the smell of coffee wafted toward us. As we were about to go in, however, Bella stopped. She was looking at the shop with recognition and horror dawning in her eyes. The others also stopped, uncertainly.

"Bella?" I asked softly, reaching out with one hand to gently touch her shoulder. As soon as my hand made contact with her skin, she whirled around. I had only enough time to catch her expression on her ashen grey face- and I never hope to see that expression on anyone's face, much less Bella's, ever again: her skin was stretched taut over her cheekbones, and her face was flooded with absolute terror, despair, horror, shock, and fear; there was a strange, feverish light in her eyes, like the eyes of a hunted animal's, and for a moment, she didn't seem to see me, but something past me, though when I looked a moment later there was nothing there- before she sank down, collapsing at my feet in a dead faint.

**A/N Ooh, cliffy! I know, I hate them too, but I couldn't resist…you should find out exactly what's wrong with Bella and her past in a chapter, or two. REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!!!**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry again for ending on a cliffhanger….so if you don't want me to do that again, hit the review button! I'm not asking more for 15 seconds of your time. I saw New Moon! Personally I think it was A LOT better than Twilight, but that's just me.**

BPOV

"Bella, can you hear me? Please wake up," a voice was begging me. I opened my eyes marginally. I appeared to be in a car. My body relaxed with relief. Good, I was no longer in my personal hell. Taking confidence from that, I opened my eyes the rest of the way. Edward's green eyes were staring anxiously into mine. When he saw that I was conscious, he sighed with relief.

"God, Bella, you almost gave me a heart attack," he said lightly.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"We're nearly to Forks. Alice wanted to wait until you were okay, but Jasper said he thought your fainting spell had something to do with your obvious aversion to Port Angeles. Care to explain?" He looked questionably at me. I shook my head.

"I'll tell you all later, just not now," I said. Everyone looked curiously at me, but didn't say anything.

Apparently, we were all staying at Carlisle and Esme's house (Edward and Alice's parents). Never having met them before, and doubting that they had ever heard of me, naturally I was a little nervous. Locking and unlocking my hands for the umpteenth time, I fidgeted.

"Stop squirming, Bella," Edward sighed.

"I'm not good with meeting new people," I explained. Rose and Alice looked skeptically at me. "Look, Bella, you made friends with my sister, who has a reputation for being a bitch, an Ice Queen, and overall a standoffish, conceited, mean person within 10 minutes. You're great with meeting new people," Jasper said, winking at me. Rose glared at him.

"Listen to Jasper," Edward said.

"How can _you_ of all people think I'm a social, charismatic person?" I demanded. "When I first met you, I humiliated both you and Emmett in front of the whole school, spent two weeks glaring at you, screamed at you once in your own house, and another time when you were trying to help me." I winced. He flinched.

"I wish you would forget that," he said softly, his voice sad, "every time I think of the kind of person I was back then and how I treated you, I feel horrible." I rolled my eyes.

"Stop beating yourself up, Edward. It can't be healthy. Besides, if there should be someone beating themselves up, it should be me, but do you see me killing myself mentally? No." He looked gratefully at me, his eyes tender. I felt a sharp stab of pain dig into me, hoping to God that I was wrong, and that he didn't, couldn't think of me as anything more than a friend. Because I knew that all things considering, I'd probably never be able to return that feeling.

Emmett finally parked in front of Edward and Alice's house. Alice practically jumped out of the car and sprinted to the doorway. Edward rolled his eyes, then followed. What surprised me was that Emmett also sprinted up to the doorway, every bit as enthusiastic as Alice.

"We've know them for so long, they're practically Mom and Dad to us too," Jasper explained. Excited squeals and questions from the house told me that Esme and Carlisle were now notified of our visit. Jasper and Rose headed up to the house, with me following, trying unsuccessfully to hide behind the siblings' tall figures. As soon as they entered the house, they were both hugged. I stood awkwardly to the side, but then Edward's father caught my eye. He looked so familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on where I'd seen him before. Esme saw me and smiled, surprised.

"Alice, I thought I'd taught you better than this. Where are your manners?" She scolded. When Alice looked confused, Esme explained, "Aren't you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"Oh! Mom, Dad, this is Bella. Bella, these are my parents."

"Bella and I are already acquainted," Alice's dad said, smiling at me. I suddenly remembered where I'd seen him before. I recounted several memories of myself being transported to Fork's hospital in an ambulance, with a broken leg/arm/finger/concussion/cracked head/twisted ankle/stomachache that Charlie thought was appendicitis. He was the doctor who'd spent numerous hours on me in my accident-prone childhood.

"Doctor Cullen! It's so good to see you again!" I exclaimed, loudly. My friends were watching me with completely nonplussed expressions, probably since they'd never mentioned that Doctor Cullen worked in the hospital.

"It's good to see you too. You've grown so much taller, and more beautiful! I haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, I had to get over my clumsiness, sometime," I said, laughing. Becoming a spy had cured me of that.

"What a coincidence that you're going to the same school as my children. Never thought little Isabella Marie would grow up to be a spy," he teased. He knew I hated my full name. In my first year of becoming a spy, at age14 and a half, I had gone to great lengths to hack into computers and erase my full name from all the records I could find, putting 'Bella' in its place. Only the people I'd known before then knew my full name.

"Darling, would you please explain instead of leaving us all in the dark?" Esme asked impatiently.

"Of course. Honey, do you remember the stories I told you all about the little girl about Edward's age who used to come to the hospital all the time? Where I'd said, 'I've never seen such an accident prone child?' and who'd on average come to the hospital about 10 or 11 times a year?"

"Yes," Alice, Edward and Esme all chimed, still looking confused.

"Well, I'm proud to introduce to you that little girl in person. Everyone, meet Isabella Marie Swan, poster child for…"

"Clumsiest, danger magnet blockhead," I finished, now bright red. "Doc, did you really have to tell them my real name?"

"Well, you did just call me 'Doctor Cullen' and 'Doc' knowing perfectly well I hated that," he replied, over the sound of Emmett, Edward and Jasper guffawing. "You deserved it. And you three shut up!" I yelled. It had no effect whatsoever on them. I was about to stomp over and kick all three of them in the shins, when Esme spoke up. "Oh, I remember now. Alice, didn't you say something about a new girl coming here who kicked Edward's butt and actually managed, miracle of miracles, to knock some sense into his thick head?" Edward stopped laughing.

"Mom!" He complained, "Trust you to side with some girl you've only just met over your own son!" Alice smirked, and Rose covered her mouth with one hand, trying not to laugh.

The next day, I went with Alice and Edward to La Push. Rose, Emmett and Jazz stayed behind. I was practically bursting with impatience to see my friends again.

EPOV

I've never seen Bella this excited. Her excitement affected me too-I really wanted to see what kind of people Bella was friends with in her old home. She told us to stop in front of a weather worn brick red house, close to the beach. I'd never been here before. A pretty girl with a teardrop shaped face and shiny black hair in a braid looked up from the doorstep. Her jaw dropped when she saw Bella.

"Bella! I didn't know you were coming! Oh my freaking God, what are you doing here? You could have given me some warning so that I'd know to clean up a bit and bake muffins," the girl said, talking very rapidly and hurrying to hug Bella as soon as Bella got out of the car.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she laughed, her eyes sparkling and a light in her eyes that I'd never seen there before. I guess she really missed her friends-on my other side, I could tell that Alice was struggling not to feel jealous. I was doing the same thing.

"Where are Emily and Jake?" Bella asked, the two of them practically giggling with exuberance. I'd never heard Bella giggle before-she sounded like liquid light bubbling in a stream.

"They're inside. OMG, they're gonna be so happy to see you!" She didn't appear to even notice either Alice or me yet, not acknowledging us in any way. I gazed meaningfully at Bella. She blushed, mortified. "Oh, sorry! Leah, this is Edward and Alice-they're some friends I met at Avalon High."

"Pleased to meet you," she said politely, but her voice lacked any real interest. In this way she was like Rose-she had little interest in strangers. However, when her gaze passed over me, her eyes seemed to harden slightly. Did she already suspect my feelings for Bella? Maybe I wasn't giving these La Push people enough credit. Maybe they sucked (with the exception of Bella) at acting, but they sure were observant. Leah took Bella's hand and pulled her into the house. Alice and I followed, Alice muttering, "Sheesh. Could someone get any more rude?" grumpily.

The house was very plain, compared to the two people inside. The girl had the same large, dark eyes and sleek shiny black hair as Leah, making me think that they might be related. The guy didn't have a shirt on, and I could tell he was as muscular as Emmett, just not as big. He was quite tall, at least 6 feet 5 inches. When they saw Bella, they nearly attacked her. Jake (considering Bella's positive reaction to him, I assumed he was the friend she was talking about) picked her up and spun her around. She laughed. I felt another stab of jealousy. Why couldn't she be that carefree around us? Of course, she did know them for pretty much her entire life, I reminded myself.

"Can't breathe," she gasped. He laughed, and set her down gently, lightly kissing her cheek. It took everything in my power not to growl.

"Jake, you know Leah's probably going to murder me now?" she asked. I relaxed when I realized Jacob and Leah were obviously together.

"That's right. You better watch out, Bella," Emily (I assumed she was Bella's other close girl friend from La Push) teased, "Leah's on the warpath." Leah fake growled. Bella put on an expression of mock terror, and all four of them burst out laughing again. Alice cleared her throat. Jacob turned to face us.

"Hey, Bells, don't you think introductions are necessary?" he asked.

"Oh! Sorry! I keep on forgetting," she apologized. "Alice, Edward, meet Emily and Jake. Em, Jake, meet Alice and Edward. Without them, I don't know how I'd have survived in Avalon High." Their faces became warmer. I realized that all three of them looked out for Bella, though she probably didn't need it, and my own feelings toward them became warmer. Alice, tired of being ignored, jumped forward and soon started a conversation with the three girls. I watched my sister affectionately, and Bella with longing, forgetting for a moment that there was someone else in the room. Jacob was watching me closely, eyes slightly narrowed.

Later in the evening, we talked about everything that was going on. Jake asked me how we liked our visit so far. I saw an opportunity to find out about Bella's reaction in Port Angeles. Casually, I said, "Oh, yeah, it's been great. We went to a nightclub too-Bella's first, apparently."

"Yeah? That's cool, but I didn't realize there were any clubs in Forks, or La Push," Emily said.

"It was in Port Angeles." I didn't miss their reaction. Jacob's eyes hardened, Emily's eyes flashed, and Leah's eyes narrowed, and she let out a low hiss. That proved that there was, in deed, something Bella was hiding from us. I also noticed how their eyes all quickly flashed to Bella, their gazes showing concern and worry. Bella herself was looking down at her knees, blood rushing to her face as though she knew their eyes would be on her.

"Edward, could I talk to you for a moment in private?" Leah asked abruptly. Emily flashed her a warning look.

"Sure." I followed Leah to the garage. She turned on the light, then whipped around, and grabbed my throat, pushing me against the wall. Yep, I had definitely underestimated her.

"What were you thinking? Hurting Bella like that? Why exactly did you and your precious sister bring her to that city, to take her to a nightclub of all things?" she hissed, eyes more deadly than those of a king cobra.

"Don't…" gasp "know what…" gasp "you're talking…about." I choked out. Uncertainty clouded her features, and she released me. "She didn't tell you, did she?" she whispered, looking down at her hands.

"Tell me what?" I asked urgently. Her head snapped back up. "I can't...I've known her forever. I can't betray her like this. She'll tell you when she's ready."

"Please, Leah," I begged. If it was about Bella, I had to know. She shook her head. I sighed in frustration. "But I can tell you this." Her eyes had recovered their steely glint. "Anything to do with Port Angeles will cause Bella enough terror to make someone less strong have a heart attack. And every time someone falls in love with her, she'll feel pain and guilt, excruciatingly strong guilt."

And with that Leah left, leaving me alone in the garage, a thousand times more puzzled that before.

BPOV

When Leah took Edward aside to talk to him, Jacob grabbed me by the hand and pulled me upstairs. "Private BFF catching up time," he said to a disgruntled Alice. In his bedroom, he closed the door to make sure no one could hear us. Then, "What's going on with you and Cullen?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, flushing. He sighed.

"Come on, Bells, even you can't be so dense in the areas of romance as to be oblivious to the way he feels about you?" I stared at him blankly. He sighed again. "Have you seen the way he stares at you, Bella? The way he looks whenever you smile, or laugh? The expression on his face when I kissed you on the cheek?" The blood drained from my face. I didn't have to see it to know I was as white as a ghost.

"No…he can't…he can't love me, Jake! I did see something in his eyes, sometimes, but I always thought it was nothing, just a crush or a shallow infatuation that might last two weeks at the most. I didn't know…I didn't want to know it was anything more!" My voice was rising. I looked at Jacob's sympathetic face desperately. "You know how I am about romance and trust, Jacob." Of course he knew. He had been a victim of it, and I would never forgive myself for hurting him that way, though I knew he was fine now.

"It's okay, Bells," he said softly, embracing me. "But tell him soon, so that he doesn't get his hopes up any longer. And when you do, be sure to tell him why you feel that way also. He deserves to know the whole story."

"I know," I said, sadly, "I know."

Later at Edward's house, everyone was watching a movie. It was a romantic movie, and at the moment, I really couldn't bear to think of love, so I made my excuses and explored the house. It was enormous. I was looking for the bathroom, but instead wandered into another room. One wall was completely glass and overlooked the forest behind the house. The view was absolutely breathtaking, but what really caught my attention was the grand piano. Even I, who knew next to nothing about music, knew it had to be extremely expensive. It emanated an aura of simplicity, elegance and beauty. I knew the room was probably private, and I should leave, but it captivated me. Instead of leaving, I walked slowly closer. On the piano was a framed photograph of a woman and a boy. The boy was obviously a younger version of Edward and his green eyes were more carefree and happy than I'd ever seen them. I didn't recognize the woman though she looked like a much older female version of Edward, with the same peculiar bronze tinted hair cascading over her back, and the same dark, emerald eyes with gold flecks. There were laugh lines around her eyes and she was unquestionable beautiful. They both had wide smiles on their faces. I realized this must be Edward's biological mother. Didn't Alice once mention Edward was her half brother?

"That's my mom," Edward said, quietly, as if he were reading my mind. I jumped slightly, not having heard him enter the room.

"She died a few years ago, and then my dad met Esme and I got a new sister."

"I'm so sorry," I murmured. He nodded, continuing, "Shortly after she died, my girlfriend, Tanya, dumped me. The hurt that caused me…that she had dumped me when I needed her the most…I can't even begin to describe it. It took me a while to trust another girl after that, but by then, I'd already gotten into the player habit. That's when you came along, and as Esme would say, "knocked some sense into my thick head." So that's pretty much the story of my life. What about you, Bella? Is there something you'd like to tell me?" My breathing hitched in my throat when I looked into his piercing green eyes, searching mine for the secret I'd kept hidden for so long, the one chapter of the story of my life that I had not published, had not revealed to anyone but those impossible to hide it from. I took a deep breath. "Edward, we need to talk."

**A/N: Another cliffhanger!!!! I bet you all hate me right now. I mean, I've pretty much spent the entire story building up to this one moment and then I stop just before it, but this chapter was really getting too long. As you may guess, this chapter's main purpose was not to entertain the reader, but to build suspense. In your reviews, tell me what you think the next chapter will be about!!!!!! The more reviews I get, the sooner I update!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N Okay, I was originally going to update on Thursday since that's when my spring break starts, but I was so thrilled by the number of reviews and apparently enthusiastic readers that I'm updating today instead. See, if you review, you get bonuses like these, and we both benefit. (hahahaha, I just sounded so grown up) ON A RATE OF ONE TO TEN, TEN BEING HIGHEST, WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS STORY IS??? Tell me please, I don't care if you think it's a 2, a 5 or a 7, and tell me if you think this chapter sucks, if so, then why, and if you don't think it sucks, tell me why you like it! Warning: I'm not kidding, writing this chapter seriously gave me goosebumps, but its necessary. To prevent myself from shuddering too much, I've tried to add a bit of humor into the darkest of situations.**

BPOV

"Edward, your family has been so kind to me, so I figure it's only fair that you know about my past. But this story isn't something I want to tell everyone at once, or retell it again, so feel free to repeat anything I say." I said stalling, my courage suddenly failing me. He nodded, eyes eager with anticipation. I took another deep breath.

"Do you remember that day with the fight with Jane and Alec?" Edward nodded again. "Well, remember when you asked me why I was so upset? I told you I would tell you another time. The reason I was so upset is, well, linked with a lot of things, including my fainting spell in Port Angeles." Edward's eyes narrowed.

"Stop stalling and get on with it," he warned. I huffed.

"Fine. It all started shortly after I turned fourteen," I said, my voice getting quieter, beyond caring about how cliché I sounded. "I remember everything about that night." As I talked, it was like I was suddenly transported back into time, revisiting every crystal sharp memory that I had tried desperately and unsuccessfully to crush in my mind. Before I knew it, the memories started spilling out of me through the words that now flowed freely from my mouth. I never knew how much I wanted to tell another person the whole story until now, and now that I had begun, I knew I couldn't stop.

_"I remember everything about that night, from the date (September 23) to the time (between 6:30 and 8:45 p.m.) to my outfit (an Abercrombie shirt with thin red stripes and dark navy skinny jeans with silver flats.) It was my first date, and I was going with my first crush. I can't tell you how excited I was- Emily and Leah were ecstatic and Charlie was just happy I got over his and Renee's divorce enough to actually go on a date. James was the guy's name. He had messy blond hair and nearly all the girls had wanted to go out with him, but he chose _me_ of all people. He picked me up at 6:30 and took me out for dinner. Throughout the meal I was on cloud nine. We were at a French restaurant, one of the best in Port Angeles. I had never been to the city, and never would again, until yesterday. But anyway, the waitresses treated us like grownups, we were alone, and everything was so incredibly, fantastically romantic. Now I realize that I was merely infatuated with him, but I was young, and at the time it seemed like true love. After dinner, instead of going to the coffee shop just around the corner where his parents said they'd pick us up at 8:00, we explored the city. After about 10 minutes, we came to a little bookstore. I wanted to go in, since I loved books even then, but James didn't, convincing me it was boring. Months later I realized that had he listened to me, it might have changed everything and my past might be totally different."_ I paused, staring off into space when I recalled the severe shock my system had suffered when, coincidence of coincidences, we had come upon that exact same bookstore in my recent trip to Port Angeles. Edward eyes lit with realization.

"Was that the…" he whispered.

"Yes. It was the bookstore that I fainted at," I answered, nodding, before continuing with the story. _"But we didn't stop and go in, which led to the disastrous events that followed. James looked at his watch and discovered it was five minutes to eight, so we started to head back. James, though he was good looking and popular, was not the smartest guy I'd ever met, and within two minutes, he took a wrong turn and we were lost. Never having been in the city before, I had no idea where we were. I found out later that of course, of all places to get lost in, we had to get lost in the worst part of town. The sun was setting, and the eerie shadows along the dirty brick alley walls were making me nervous. _

_ "James, you do know where you're going, don't you?" I asked. "I mean, I don't remember coming here."_

_ "Look, I know perfectly well where we are, I just need to concentrate, so could you please be quiet for a moment so I can think?" He asked, irritated. I fell silent. Soon, he turned and I followed him into another alley, even more narrow and dismal than the one before. It was getting late, and when I glanced at James' watch, I found out it was 8:10. We were ten minutes late. It was really getting dark, twilight, and I couldn't tell the difference between reality and the shadows which my overactive imagination made seem solid as life. Was I hallucinating or were those figures, about twenty five yards behind us, following? Were they real, or simply figments of my now slightly panicked mind? If they were real, were they simply innocent civilians, or were they something a bit more sinister...perhaps assassins or a dangerous gang? Commanding my irrational body to calm down, I turned to James._

_ "Are they following us?" I asked._

_ "No. Just don't look back." He answered, speeding up his walking rate. I walked faster too. "Drop your purse. Maybe they just want money." I willingly obliged. There were only about twenty bucks left in there anyway, and if that could save my life…well, I wasn't complaining. However, when our stalkers reached it, they simply stepped aside, ignored it, and kept on walking. Even though I didn't dare look back, the hairs on the back of my head stood up, and a cold creepy feeling that chilled me to the bone told me they were gaining. Suddenly, two more figures stepped out right in front of me. Since they were leaning against the wall, I didn't notice them before and let out a low scream. One of the people from behind me finally caught up and smoothly slid a hand over my mouth, the other arm sliding over my arms, chaining them to my side. My eyes widened, and I was absolutely paralyzed with fear. James stepped forward. _

_ "Get your hands off her. What do you want?" He asked harshly, trying to appear tough, but I saw that his pupils were dilated with terror. From the way my captor was stroking my hair, curling locks of it around two of his fingers, I'd say it was pretty clear what they wanted. My heart rate was quick and erratic, as I moaned softly. I couldn't just run into a murderer, could I? No, I had to run into a rapist and a whole band of them at that. Another guy from behind me stepped forward. He had so many piercings and tattoos it was scary. James' eyes widened. _

_ "Aww, are you going to risk your pathetic little life to save your girlfriend, or more specifically, her virginity? Too bad that even if you die, you won't be able too," he said in a voice that gave my 14-year-old self goosebumps, and still does today, in my nightmares. Of course, the goosebumps didn't only come from Mr. Creeptastic's voice, they also came from the way my captor's fingers were slowly trailing up my arm, and from the way the other males leered at me, licking their lips occasionally. I shuddered inwardly, still completely frozen. Mr. Creeptastic (fitting name, isn't it?) stepped closer to James and punched him in the face. I let out a muffled scream as the force of impact sent James sprawling to the ground. When he looked up, I saw blood trickling from the edge of his mouth. Mr. Creeptastic kept repeatedly pummeling James and kicking him while I looked on helplessly. James just curled into a ball. Finally, as one especially hard kick caught him in the stomach, he screamed._

_ "No! Don't hurt me…please!" James begged. "You can have her, use her, do what ever you want to her, just don't kill me! I won't tell anyone…I swear on my life. Just don't hit me again." My mouth would have dropped open in horror, but Slimy Sweaty Perverted Fingers guy still had his hand around my lips. Mr. Creeptastic guy laughed. _

_ "Now that's more like it. Fine, just because I'm nice, I'll let you go." He bent down and grabbed my bleeding and bruised date by his shirt's collar. "But repeat a word…and I swear, God damn it, you'll never see your mommy's face again." He growled menacingly. James whimpered, before scrambling to his feat and saying earnestly, "Don't worry about me. I won't say anything. My lips are sealed." With that, he sprinted down the alley as fast as he could, never looking back. As I looked at James' quickly retreating figure, a sense of betrayal and hopelessness nearly suffocated me and I was nearly delirious with horror, disbelief and overwhelming terror. My captor, a.k.a. Mr. Slimy Sweaty Perverted Fingers woke me up to reality. _

_ "Well, now," He said, trying to lead me to a run down building a few feet ahead, "I must say I'm looking forward to this. Don't worry…once we've all had a turn with you, we'll let you go. If I'm being completely honest, I'm a little disappointed that you're so young, but you'll do." I snapped. _I paused, taking in Edward's expression. His eyes were glassed over, and I guessed he was seeing the scene unfolding before his eyes, like I did. His hands were gripping the edge of the piano stool so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the story again, where I had left off.

_"To this day, I still do not know how I managed to live through the next half hour or so. But at that moment, my body regained control of itself, though my mind was far from being in control of my body. That lack of control probably saved my virginity, if not my life and sanity." _I bit my lip. _"Before I knew what I was doing, I had bit down upon my captor's sweaty hand so hard I tasted blood. He tasted awful, but he let go of me with a cry of horrible pain and shock. This is the one part of that night that I only remember flashes of. One moment I had kneed one guy in between his legs, and the next I had shoved my shoe up another bastard's mouth. What amazed me is that even though all the people there were undoubtedly at least ten years older than me, and I was outnumbered 10 to 1, not one person managed to keep a hold on me. After half an hour, though it seemed like days to me, the attack's aggressiveness started to lessen, though for the life of me, I couldn't imagine why. Then I realized: the police were here. I guess my screams had been loud enough to alert some civilians. Unfortunately for me, my father was Chief of Police of La Push, and since the Port Angeles Chief of Police was on vacation, Charlie was called in. I'll never forget that look on my dad's face for as long as I live." _I winced. _"He had been concerned when he heard of a sexual assault, but he never imagined that the victim would be his own daughter." _

"I'll say," Edward muttered, surprising me. He'd hardly said anything during this whole monologue.

_"The look on his face…I can't even begin to describe it. Shock, helplessness, pain and shame as though he'd let me down somewhere were only some of the emotions he wore on his face, though he tried to conceal them, when I sat in intensive care for extreme shock for the next two weeks."_

"What happened to the…people who attacked you?" Edward asked tightly. I had a feeling 'people' was not his first choice of words.

"Not one of them got caught." I said bitterly. He looked shocked.

"Oh, they have many accomplices to avoid capture," I explained. "But I'm satisfied, to some extent. I doubt Mr. Creeptastic's scar on his face will ever go away, and I seriously doubt he'll ever be able to have kids. Did you know the extent of damage fingernails can do to someone's face? And as for my captor…I doubt he'll ever retain the ability to see again in his left eye." I said with grim delight. Instead of looking alarmed like I expected him to be, Edward looked slightly wistful, as if he wished he'd done that and more to the monsters that'd basically ruined my life.

"You have no idea how that night affected the rest of my life, transformed my teenage years, and contributed to the person I am today. It was _weeks_ before someone could get within 5 feet of me without me having a full scale panic attack, months before someone could touch me without me completely freaking out. I relived that memory every night in my nightmares, often waking up screaming. I still have them today, though it's a lot better. However, to this day I cannot bear to eat French food or be in Port Angeles. I've only been there once since that night, and as you saw, that ended badly. When I looked at my reflection in that fateful bookshop's window, it became too much for me. I reminded myself too much of how I must have looked that night…broken, scared, hopeless, with eyes like a fleeing animal's. I apologize for fainting when you so much as tapped me on the shoulder, but for a moment, I didn't see you, I saw one of the dark figures advancing on me and that was enough to push me over the edge of sanity."

"Of course, the way Alice dressed you didn't help." Edward said in a strangled voice.

"It didn't. To see myself portrayed as so vulnerable and helpless in the city where I was weakest was…brutal for me," I admitted. Looking up at Edward, I saw that his face was white and his eyelashes were wet. He motioned for me to go on. _He needs to know_, I reminded myself.

"If there's one good thing that resulted from this, it's that I knew without a doubt what I wanted to be when I grew up. I never told you why I made the decision to train to become a spy, and worked so hard at it also. In truth, after being scarred for life and seeing the people who'd did it go unpunished- at least by the law, I decided I wanted to have the power to be able to hunt down, to punish those who deserved it."

"I was also affected in the areas of romance. I told you I didn't date because of my parents' divorce, but in reality, that was only half the truth. Sure, because of the divorce I was a bit more careful and hesitant than other girls, but it wasn't enough to prevent me from dating altogether. Seeing James' abandon me like that, not caring whether or not I lived or what became of me as long as he survived was like the final nail in the coffin. I've forgiven him years ago for what he did- he was only a frightened, panicked boy then, and it would really be irrational and unfair of me to hold that against him. But just because I forgave him didn't mean I could escape the consequences of his actions. Though many guys fell in love with me, I couldn't love any of them back, though it killed me that I had to hurt them just because of my stupid problem." Though I kept the conversation general, I could tell from the way Edward stiffened that he realized who I was talking about.

"I couldn't love, Edward, because I couldn't trust. There was always a part of my heart that I held back and love doesn't work that way. No matter how much I liked the guy, how kind, charming, handsome or whatever, I couldn't give myself up entirely. If I got an inkling that any person who touched me was feeling more than mere friendship, I would just shut down, because I never could forget the sensation of that _monster's_ hands on me. No matter how much any guy loved me, there was always one thing he couldn't give me: proof. Proof that he wouldn't leave me if things got bad, leaving me to fend for myself." I was failing utterly in my attempt to remain general. It was obvious who the conversation was directed toward now.

"So you're saying…that for you it's impossible, both mentally and physically…to fall in love with anyone?" Edward asked in a strange emotionless voice, hollow and dead. I was looking down at my feet now, and since a strange choking lump in my throat prevented me from speaking, I just nodded and turned around. I headed for the window, trying to get my thoughts together and started to turn but stopped. I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes and see the boundless pain in them and know that it was I alone who had inadvertently caused it.

"Yes…I can't love anyone. But if I _could _love someone, anyone, Edward, it would be you.

The atmosphere in the room was unbearable. Throwing open the wide window, I leaped from it, catching myself on one of the branches of the huge magnolia tree outside before letting myself fall to the ground and sprinting as fast as I could. Where? I didn't really care; at the moment, anywhere was better than being in the Cullen house.

**A/N Well, you know what happened to Bella now. Don't give up on her though, keep on reading! I made her react this way because for me, this seems like a more rational response for someone who'd almost been raped three years ago, more like real life. Like it, love it, hate it??! IDK but review!!!!! SHOULD I DO THE NEXT CHAPTER IN EDWARD'S POV AND WHAT HE WAS THINKING THIS WHOLE TIME OR JUST GO ON WITH THE STORY?!!!?**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N Woohoo, it's spring break, which equals lots of updates!!!! To all my readers, HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!!!! **

EPOV

I stared numbly at the spot where Bella had been standing. Crossing over to the window, I had only time enough to glimpse her fleeing form disappear into the woods before she vanished, a shadow melting into the night. What Bella had recently told me…it was too much for my mind to process it all now. This is what I did know: when Bella was 14, she was nearly raped, betrayed by her boyfriend, which had completely destroyed her trust in any romantic relationship for herself. I remembered back to the day in gym, when we were playing hero/villain/victim and realized I wasn't surprised she had managed to defend herself. Even when she was barely a teenager, she was immensely strong. That strength just needed training for her to become the deadly spy she was today.

I also realized why she wanted to tell me her story alone. She wanted to tell me, without an audience, and as gently as possible that she felt she couldn't return my feelings. Ironically, what hurt me the most was telling me that if she could love somebody, it would be me. Which was stupid, but I couldn't help thinking and longing for what could have been, had that night not happened. My train of thought was broken when the door creaked open, and there stood Em, Jazz, Alice and Rose all gaping at me, where they had obviously been eavesdropping. _So much for privacy…_I thought bitterly.

BPOV

Running, jumping over roots, I spotted a huge tree ahead. I leaped up, and with both of my hands grabbed a sturdy branch, then flung the rest of my body up, landing with a thump on the branch. There, I cried myself out. _How could I be so cruel?_ I thought. Why did I of all people have to be the one to hurt him? I truly hated myself. After about half an hour though, I realized that they were probably all worried sick about me. Though returning to the house was the last thing I wanted to do, I couldn't cause them all more concern. Wiping my eyes, I slid lightly off the branch and found my way back to the house. It wasn't hard…all I had to do was follow the trail of destruction my flight had left behind. When I opened the door, there was an eerie silence. Rose, Em, Jazz, Alice, and….Edward were all staring at me. I stared back dumbly. They all obviously knew the whole story by now. The tension was almost tangible, and I was about to turn and leave when Edward of all people stepped forward, breaking the stillness and enveloped me in a hug.

EPOV

As I hugged Bella, she sobbed uncontrollably on my shoulder. "Shh, it's alright," I murmured, "It's not your fault." I needed to tell her that I in no way whatsoever blamed her or was angry with her, since knowing Bella, she would hate herself for hurting me.

"I'm a horrible person," she moaned softly.

"No you're not. Don't you dare think that," I said firmly. As she continued to cry, another pair of arms awkwardly hugged her.

RPOV

I stared at Bella's form, heaving gently with sobs in Edward's arms, in complete denial. If Bella hadn't told her story from her own lips, and if I hadn't known Bella to be the kind of person who'd never, _ever_ lie about such a thing, then I wouldn't have believed it. There was no way that the person in Edward's arms with such a dark past could be the same Bella that I knew. It was like a dual personality, with me only knowing the confident, smart, funny, witty and strong Bella, with no clue that deep inside was a fragile, scared, more timid, but still strong Bella. I moved over to hug one of my best friends, needing her to know that I accepted her, loved her, and would not treat her weirdly just because of her past.

APOV

Guilt. That's the first thing I felt, out of all the other emotions I could have had. How could I have been so blind? To be so oblivious to how uncomfortable Bella was in the outfit I had dressed her in Port Angeles? Granted, I thought it was just the normal reluctance Bella felt toward me and fashion, but still…I had only thought of my own and my brother's happiness, without a thought toward what Bella might have felt. Just because Edward loved her didn't mean Bella loved him back. In my haste to make my brother happy and get over Tanya, I had completely neglected my best friend's interests. Two seconds after Rose moved forward, I followed, needing Bella to forgive me.

JPOV

Being the jerk that I am, in spite of all the horror I felt, I felt a tiny grain of satisfaction. I finally knew why Bella was so emotionally upset during that trip to Port Angeles. I quickly crushed that feeling. Everyone was upset, but when Bella told her story, I had a feeling Alice might feel the worst, next to Edward, and Bella herself. As for myself, I was agitated and jumpy. Where was my composure when I needed it? Not to comfort only myself but to comfort the friends I long ago considered as family. Since I couldn't calm any of them with words, I did the next best thing: I joined Edward, Rose and Alice and stepped forward to hug Bella.

EMPOV

I was seriously trying not to cry. I mean, Emmett never cries. Yet when Bella told her sad story, I came close, and came really close again when Bella stepped through the door and I saw the expression on her face. Needing to lighten the atmosphere, I yelled, "GROUP HUG!!!!!!" threw myself at them all, and nearly crushed everyone. Through her tears, Bella laughed softly, and Rose rolled her eyes. The tension had lessened dramatically, yet even so, I found I couldn't fully swallow the lump in my throat.

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

EPOV

I knew that Bella didn't love me back, and that I should just get over her and quit her cold turkey. Yet, as insane and downright pathetic as it sounds, I fell even more in love with her.

It was impossible not to. Bella was so…beautiful, charming, endearing, so…_bewitching_. Unfortunately for me, along with the love came other emotions.

Bella and I were sitting in the commons room, chatting about random stuff. She felt bad, really bad, and so was trying to be as friendly as possible to me, while making sure I knew I was just a friend. Occasionally, when she thought I wasn't looking, I'd see a flash of terrible guilt on her face when she looked at me, and I'd remember Leah's words: _"Anything to do with romance will cause her pain and guilt, excruciating guilt."_

Anyway, we were both happily talking away when Mike stepped in. Lately, it seemed like all the boys in the school had gotten over their fear of her, taking advantage of her friendliness and kindness, flocking to Bella for protection from Jane and Alec. I hated it, but what I hated more was that some of them thought of Bella as more than a protector, Mike included.

"Hey, Bells," he said, sliding into the chair next to her, completely ignoring me. I glared at him, and Bella shot me a warning look. I still wasn't sure if she was aware of Mike's infatuations with her. Knowing Bella, probably not.

"Hi Mike, what's up?" She asked, smiling. Yup, definitely not. She was obviously not aware that she was encouraging him.

"Oh, nothing, but would you like to come to my house on Friday? I need a tutor for English and you're so good at it," he said, trying and failing, to subtly touch her knee with his. Bella's face hardened. I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Sorry Mike, but she won't be coming." I said smoothly, grabbing her hand and pulling her away.

"It's not your business, she can come if she wants to, seeing as she's not your sister or your girlfriend, so what's it to you?" Mike asked rudely. I resisted the urge to punch him.

"That's for me to know, and for you not to find out." I hissed. As soon as we exited the room, Bella said sullenly, "I could have handled him myself, you know."

"Didn't look like it," I said.

"Mike's right though- why do you care?" she asked. I just looked at her, eyebrows raised. Wasn't it obvious?

"Oh." She said quietly, and I realized that she had been hoping beyond hope that my feelings for her were light and shallow, a mere infatuation and that I'd have gotten over her by now. Pain, guilt and self loathing flashed through her clear brown eyes before she could conceal it. Neither one of us talked until we got to the cafeteria. At that moment the headmaster's secretary rushed up to us.

"You two are required to go to the headmaster's office. The headmaster wants to see you," she said coldly.

**A/N Wasn't my best, but oh well. Please review!!!!! Tell me **_**exactly**_** what you think of the story so far and why!!!!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N YAY!!!!!!! I reached 50 reviews!!!!!! I love you all (in a friendly way). Warning: this chapter is going to be really long and will contain some minor violence. Sorry if you think the beginning is cheesy. Just this chapter will be rated T.**

BPOV

I could feel Edward fidgeting as we headed up to the Headmaster's office. I don't really know why…the Headmaster wasn't at all scary. He was like the stern, strict grandfather I never had.

"Edward, it's going to be fine. We didn't do anything bad," I said, trying to comfort him.

"Easy for you to say. He loves you," Edward muttered under his breath. I smiled, then pushed the door open, revealing the headmaster looking very distracted at his desk.

"Hello sir," I called out.

"Hello, Miss Swan. I'm afraid I have some bad news," he answered, barely greeting Edward.

"I have been getting reports of a few assaults and murders in Seattle," he continued, "the police seem to think the attacks are random, but I think there is a secret organization behind it."

"In what way can we help?" I asked, confused.

"Since the main suspects are teenagers, and since you and Mr. Cullen are the star students in the school, I'd like for you two to go undercover in Seattle and try to pick up a few clues. It shouldn't be anything too dangerous or serious, which is why I'm sending you two," he said.

"Um, sir, with all due respect, it's Thanksgiving in five days," Edward said uncomfortably. The headmaster raised his eyebrows. "Mr. Cullen, people are dying here. But if all goes according to planned, you two should be back in two days, since we're operating on a hunch, not solid evidence and the attacks may have been random after all. But you two are not to tell _anyone_ about this."

"We'll take the case," I said smiling. "Do we get extra credit for this?" Edward rolled his eyes and the Headmaster laughed.

"Miss Swan, no, you will not get extra credit for this, but I can arrange for you to travel first class."

"Oh, okay, I was just kidding, but thanks! Do we get gadgets, like in those cool spy movies?"

"Well, one of you will get a secret video recorder to record anything of consequence. But since I don't expect this trip to be particularly dangerous, you'll have to bring your own gadgets." With that, he dismissed us with a wave of his hand.

"I still can't believe we're doing this," Edward said for the millionth time today. I rolled my eyes. We were flying first class and would be arriving in about 2 hours.

"Quit complaining. Eventually, this will be our living." I said. In reality, I was excited. A mission, a real mission! I had brought about all my gadgets, just in case: disguise kit, poisoned ring, dagger disguised as a barrette, wristband that shot out two tranquilizing darts, smoke bomb necklace, bullet proof clothes, stiletto heels in which the heel part transformed into razor sharp points when you kicked, and a belt that shot out a rope with a suction cup attached to it. Oh yeah, and a bracelet with a mini GPS in it. Edward had brought night vision glasses, a voice activated bomb which we were allowed to bring on board as we had our own private jet, mini walkie talkies that fastened on your shirt collars and the video recorder which was concealed in one of his shirt's buttons. He had been impressed with all that I had managed to bring. Arriving at the airport, I realized I had no idea where to start.

EPOV

Bella's enthusiasm never manages to astound me, but she has no clue how to start a mission. Thankfully, the headmaster provided a list of where we might find a clue. I decided on starting with the bad parts of town where Bella was supposed to go and look helpless. She scowled at me.

"This is stupid," she muttered, getting out her disguise kit. I smirked, when she put on eyeliner to make her eyes seem wider and a curly blond wig. If there was truly a grand organization of crime in Seattle, and all the crimes in the city were related, maybe we could get a clue by having Bella mugged. She boldly walked down the dark alley as the sun was beginning to set. It amazed me-this setting couldn't be too different from when she was attacked in Port Angeles, yet it seems that as long as she wasn't within 20 miles of that city, she was as brave as a lioness. She headed right for the drunken men on the other side of the street, talking into a fake cell phone, "Mike, no, I'm not going out with you again. Hell, I don't even know why I'm talking to you. Hmm? Yeah, why couldn't you be the good guy and think about me when you made love with _her_?" 'Mike' said something. She started screaming things too obscene to print on paper. I, only a few meters away hiding, was staring in awe. Who knew innocent Bella knew such language? Bella whipped the fake cell from her ear and threw it at the wall, her eyes streaming with tears, her mascara smeared, and her eyes flashing anger. She sank into a hopeless ball of misery, seemingly not even noticing the men not 10 feet from her who was looking her body up and down, playing the part of weak, sad, helpless woman perfectly. I couldn't even recognize Bella right now.

"Hey, now, darling, why are you so upset?" One of the men had gotten up and put an arm around her. She sobbed unashamedly on his shoulder. "M-my b-boyfriend cheated on m-me," she cried. Wow, she was really laying it on thick. I watched as another man got up and patted her gently. "Don't worry, it's okay. Just come with us, I know just the place for you." He said consolingly, trying to pull her to her feet. She pulled back, suddenly suspicious. "Hey, what do you want?" She asked warily. The men had now completely surrounded her. Even though I knew Bella was perfectly all right, my fists were clenched in anger. "That doesn't matter-just come with us." The mini walkie talkie allowed me to hear everything perfectly. I heard a guy to the right of Bella whisper snidely, "Aro will love her. She's such a feisty, helpless little thing." Bella whimpered.

"What do you want? Don't touch me-I just want to go home," she wailed. I froze as one guy snaked his arm down her shirt. "Bella…you've taken the act far enough. Give them hell," I hissed into the microphone walkie talkie attached to my shirt collar. I heard Bella sigh in relief. The next second, the man who's hand was down her shirt was hunched up with pain. "Don't _ever_ try that move on me again," Bella's voice said, full of venom. The others were staring at her in shock. I decided it was all right for me to come out of my hiding place and, creeping up silently behind them, immediately incapacitated two of them. They would be in a coma for several weeks. Bella turned around and performed a series of complicated moves designed to cause the victim pain. Within seconds, all 6 of the guys were down on the ground. Bella stooped down and began feeling one man's chest. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Looking for anything that can help us. Ah, here it is," she said in satisfaction, pulling something out from the guy's coat pocket. It appeared to be a white card. It said, in fancy writing,

SSN

You are cordially invited to join us for the annual SSI board meeting Food, and wine will be served. Meet at 10:30 P.M., at the Arretlov bar.

Aro, Caius, Marcus

I looked at Bella, perplexed. "Who's this Caius? What's the SSI?" Bella shook her head. "I don't know, but this is the best lead we've gotten, so guess we're going to find out." She began undressing the guy.

"What the hell…Bella? Why are you stripping him?" Bella rolled her eyes. "You think that even if we do find this Arretlov person's bar, they'll let you in dressed like that?" She nodded toward my designer jeans and jacket. "Camouflage, Edward, the second rule of spying: Don't stand out."

"Oh," I said sheepishly. "What's the first rule, then?"

"Never reveal your secrets," she said. "How do you think I manage to beat you over and over again?" That shut me up.

"Couldn't we just go to a store or something and buy something that looks like what the bloke's wearing?" I asked, uncomfortably. Hey, maybe it's just me, but I wasn't exactly too comfortable with stripping other men of their clothing. Bella sighed.

"How the heck are you Carlisle's son? You know your father sees people naked every day." Bella had taken the clothes of the shortest guy, but the sleeves were still a little too long, and the pants legs were cuffed up. There was also the question of what to do with two pretty much completely naked men and 4 other unconscious ones. I suggested dumping them in the garbage can, and Bella agreed, hiding them in the huge garbage bags.

"Wow, Bella, you look sexy," I said jokingly, looking her up and down. We had agreed that the safest route was to have Bella disguise herself as a guy. She had taken the guy's hoodie, and had made me go to the nearest department store and buy a pair of black jeans identical to the identical criminal's in the smallest size available, since she too was uncomfortable stripping a guy. Thanks to her disguise kit, her face lost every trace of its feminism, and she had rubbed grease and dirt through her hair, before pulling it back into a messy low ponytail. "Shut up," she grumbled in her new low, disguised voice. "You don't look so dashing yourself."

"We better get going. If the meeting is today, we have about 2 hours to find this bar." I said, looking at my watch. As we thought about all the bars in Seattle, Bella groaned. "This is going to be impossible."

We started by going to several bars, Bella frowning at the invitation the whole time, asking around. Finally, she said, "Arretlov doesn't seem to be a real word, Edward, certainly not a very good name for a bar. But if you spell Arretlov backwards, it spells 'Volterra', which is the name of a city in Italy, and the names 'Aro', 'Caius' and 'Marcus' are Italian too. By that I can infer that though the name of the bar may or may not be 'Volterra', it probably has something to do with Italy." I stared at her.

"Bella, you are a freaking genius. Where would I be without you?" I asked. She blushed. "Well, it's hard when you have basically no clues to start with, but conceivably, you might be the one acting as a victim for once to get the one clue that we have."

"Excuse me," Bella said to the nearest person with a heavy Italian accent, "but could you please tell me if there are any good Italian bars around here?"

"Sure there are, darling, I'll tell you how to get there if you give me your name," said the drunken female sickeningly.

"It's Alberto," Bella lied smoothly.

"Okay, there's one about a couple blocks ahead that's pretty good-the best Italian bar in the city-but as I understand it it's closed tonight-some sort of special reservation," she finished scowling. Bella looked at me, eyes shining with excitement. "Thank you, but I have to go," Bella said. Walking away with me, she muttered, "You have no idea how weird it feels to have someone of the same sex flirt with you." I laughed. "I got to say, you play the part of a male quite convincingly." She glared at me, then said, "It's ten minutes to 10:30. We'd better hurry and find it." And find it we did, it was a small but classy bar with a person outside guarding the door. "This place is so creepy," Bella muttered, stepping closer to me. I nodded. The place did have a sinister feel to it and it was in a rather secluded part of the city. Bella stepped up to the door. "I'm sorry, but this place is closed for tonight," I was about to apologize and walk away when Bella said coolly, "We have reservations." The guard raised an eyebrow. "Let me see them." Bella handed him them and the guard peered closely at them. Finally, he seemed satisfied and reluctantly let us in, muttering, "I told Aro not to let scum like this in, but did he listen? No." The place was already filled with people and I saw with relief that we were not the only ones dressed like homeless hobos. A small, pale man with ancient, eager and cruel features went up on a platform and clapped his hands twice. A silence immediately fell. "Welcome, my friends!" Cheesy, I thought. "Sit down, sit down." I pulled Bella with me and we sat down on one of the benches provided. A timid looking man passed around drinks. Bella took one and made me take one too. "Don't drink it! Who knows what it is?" I hissed. Bella raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't going to, but it would look strange if I didn't take one," she whispered back. "Oh," I said, embarrassed. As Aro cleared his throat, I turned the recorder on.

"Well, as you all know, this is the 178th anniversary of the Seattle Slave Network, or SSN," Aro began. My eyes widened. _Slave Network?_ I thought. Since when did Seattle have a slave network? As Aro's speech progressed, I felt more and more nauseous. It seemed that the Headmaster was right after all-this organization seemed to be behind every raping, kidnapping and murder in the city for as long as I can remember. It was more sick than a slave network, in its own way-it kidnapped innocent women, and sold them as sex toys to other countries. The women who tried to escape were killed, thus the murders. Finally, Aro paused and applause resounded through the small dark room full of killers and kidnappers. Then it really hit me-_we were surrounded by killers._ At that moment, I'd rather be in a lion's den than right here. My jaw nearly hit the floor when Bella joined in the applause. She kicked me in the shins, and motioned with her eyes. It then struck me that I was the only one not applauding, and so was attracting strange looks. I immediately joined in, cursing myself for my stupidity. As the night wore on, my horror grew. Finally though, the meeting was drawing to an end. What Aro said next, though, chilled my blood. "And last of all, I am proud to introduce to you all some guests of honor in the crowd. Everyone, meet Isabella Marie Swan, and Edward Anthony Cullen, students of Avalon Academy for Potential Spies!" I stiffened as everyone's gazes turned on us. Bella's face, though, was unreadable. "Greetings, Aro, I finally have the pleasure of meeting one of the world's most dangerous criminals. May I ask how our cover was blown, and how you knew who we were?" She asked icily, in a voice that made the hairs at the back of my head rise. Aro smiled cockily. "You flatter me. I have tabs on all the…_lesser_ members of this society. As soon as I found out that 6 of them were beaten in a matter of a few seconds, I naturally had to find out who these strangers were. Now only a few schools in the world could have produced such fine young spies, and it was a simple matter from there to find out who you were. I have connections, Bella." Bella flinched, and I couldn't blame her. The creep already seemed to know everything about us. "Although I must congratulate you for a job well done. Your skill in maintaining your cover and tracking this place down…it's pretty amazing. Too bad I have to destroy you."

"Hate to break it to you and all, but I don't think that's going to happen. It's your organization that is going to be destroyed, not us." Aro narrowed his eyes. Bella turned to face me. "Operation 911," she said quietly to me. There was only one thing that could fit what she just told me. I slipped off my watch. "Activate in 5 seconds," I said clearly, now expecting to die in the face of justice. I should have known Bella wouldn't let that happen. Grabbing my hand, she pressed a button on her belt and a rope with a suction cup flew out of it and the next thing I knew, I was flying through the air, headed straight for the door. There was a strange white haze everywhere and in the confusion and chaos that followed, Bella kicked down the door, whipped out her barrette/dagger and cut through the rope which released us. During that time, I had somewhat gotten my wits about me and grabbing her arm, we ran. Just in time, too, since just then, the bomb exploded. It wasn't a deadly bomb, it was a bomb that released fumes that made you fall asleep for about 48 hours. Unfortunately, it was also silent, and so no civilians or police were alerted to our desperate situation. Aro had obviously taken precautions and soon we were surrounded by about 15 men, who were all desperate and dangerous, who all knew that if we escaped, it meant the end of them. Several pulled out guns, and Bella rolled to the side and grabbed a trash can lid, shielding herself and me from the bullets. One broke through and hit her in the chest. I gasped, then relaxed when I saw she was fine thanks to her bulletproof clothing. If we lived, I'd never tease her for bringing too many gadgets again. The smoke bomb had allowed us a moment's distraction to escape. I only hoped that her remaining gadgets could get us out of this alive. Lucky for us, to avoid detection, they only had revolvers that ran out of bullets quickly. When one guy tried to reload, she rolled up and had a mini wrestling match with him, and ended up kneeing him in the part-where-it-hurts-most. "I don't remember learning that move," I muttered aside to her.

"When in doubt, improvise. There, I broke a spying rule and gave you one secret," she whispered. I couldn't help but smile. Trust Bella to make me smile when we were both in mortal danger. Protecting myself with the trash can lid, I was fighting two guys at once. Somehow I had gotten my hand on a revolver with 4 bullets left, and shot 3 of the guys that Bella was fighting, missing the fourth. I doubted the wounds were fatal, but they were definitely serious. Bella was fighting hand to hand with four people at once, and one guy grabbed her wrist and twisted. She shrieked, and for a second it seemed like the guy had won, but she twisted free, and leaped up, spun around and kicked the guy across his face. He fell down, face bleeding and I remembered what Bella had said about her shoes being able to transform into lethal weapons. However, there was now still about 8 people left, and the situation was getting really desperate. One guy had gotten through my defenses and had shot my arm. Bella's wrist was sprained and we were both exhausted. These men were all experienced killers, and I knew I couldn't last much longer with the 3 people who I was fighting. Thank god everyone had run out of bullets. I took down one, with the price of his dagger grazing my side and moaned. I definitely wasn't strong enough to take down the remaining two people. Bella looked up, from where she was and took my exhausted and beaten body in. One of the two guys looked down at me in triumph and raised his dagger. Suddenly, miraculously, both of my attackers collapsed, and I looked up to see a tranquilizer dart in both of their necks.

"Edward, run!" Bella screamed. I didn't think, just fled. After about 25 yards, though, I stopped. Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to run, to save myself, but…Bella was still back there. And when my brain processed that, I staggered back in horror and self hate. I couldn't believe myself. How could I have left her? I thought back to that day when Bella fought both Jane and Alec. She said I was a coward. She was right. I mean, she'd already saved my life about 3 times today, and this was how I repaid her? I truly hated myself.

How could I expect her to trust me, to love me, when I abandoned her when she needed me the most, knowing that doing so would most certainly result in her death? Some true love I was.

Bella's scream brought me back to the present. I sprinted back, only one clear thought in my mind. _Save Bella, save Bella, save Bella…_

I took in the scene before me. There were only two people left besides Bella. In a mad frenzy of mind, I took out one, not sure whether I killed him or not. The one guy left was practically on top of Bella, weakly trying to strangle her. With the last of her strength, she managed to flip the top of her ring off, revealing a sharp needle and stabbed it in her tormentor's side. He gasped, then, as the ring released the last of its poison inside him, he collapsed on top of her, effectively cutting off her windpipe. I threw him off her and gently lifted her head off the concrete floor and onto my lap. She felt light, broken, fragile, and more breakable than a soap bubble. I noted with horror that the back of the head was soaked in blood, her neck was covered in dark, bruise-like marks and her breathing was shallow, quick and erratic.

"No…" I whispered, then panicked, sobbing, "No…please Bella, don't die, stay with me, everything's going to be all right…please...just stay…don't go, don't leave me, please Bella, don't leave me…" because at that moment, I knew that if Bella died, I would truly go insane. Vaguely, I heard sirens, flashing blue and red lights and voices calling my name, but they all seemed so unclear, distant, far away…growing fuzzier with each second until they finally faded out as my eyelids closed and darkness engulfed me, my head sinking onto Bella's chest, joining her in unconsciousness.

**A/N: Don't worry, Bella doesn't die. If I get over 5 reviews, I promise I won't end the next chapter on a cliffhanger. Ugh, I hate writing long, dark chapters, but its necessary as you'll see in the next chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N Okay, I'm planning to change my story's summary to make it seem more interesting, so don't be alarmed if you see that the summary is different. It's still the same story. Any ideas for the summary? Review and let me know! If I see a better one than the one I currently have in mind, I'll use that one and mention the reviewer's penname in the next chapter. I got 7 reviews, so as promised, I won't end this chapter on a cliffy like the oh, past 4 chapters. Thanks to all those who took the time to offer advice, encouragement in their reviews! And not to mention all those who took the time to read my story-it doesn't seem real that people all over the world in different countries are reading what I'm writing right now.**

BPOV

There was an annoying but familiar beeping sound near my head. I groaned softly, opening my eyes a millimeter. Things slid in and out of focus. I opened them wider and took in my surroundings. I appeared to be in a hospital emergency room. Interesting. For a moment I couldn't imagine why I was here right now and then the night's events hit me: getting a mission from the Headmaster, discovering a secret society, Edward and I fighting for our lives, me screaming for him to run, me taking down four more of the goons somehow, him returning, myself getting halfway strangled, and then blackness. I blinked, suddenly dizzy and overwhelmed. A nurse entered and smiled at me. "Good, you're up. Your boyfriend is waiting outside-he hasn't stopped pacing since he woke up and was able to walk-I'll send him right in." I blinked again as the nurse exited. _Boyfriend? Since when did I have a boyfriend?_ My thoughts were answered when the door sprang open and Edward entered the room.

I had only time enough to take in the look in his eyes-I swear, at the moment it seemed that they were the color of molten gold, boundless pools of a blindingly intense emotion I couldn't recognize; maybe it was some strong form of relief?-before he crossed the room in three strides, gently brushed a stray lock of hair from my face and tucked it behind my ear, took my face in his hands and solidly kissed me. A hot, scorching electrifying sensation spread from my lips where his lips crushed my own down lighting fast through my body, traveling to the tips of my fingers and all the way down to my toes, every bit as amazing as a first kiss should be. Before I knew it, I was kissing him hungrily back. It was mind-blowing, a release of all the passions we both had perhaps been secretly building up for the past few weeks, but even more than that, it was proof: the kiss was solid, undeniable evidence that we were both somehow together, and miraculously both alive. It ended abruptly when Edward pulled sharply away, his mind catching up with his body's actions. He pulled back slightly, eyes (back to their normal green) widening in shock.

"Oh! I didn't mean…I mean what I do mean is…well…it won't happen again, I promise…I just wasn't in control…Oh God, Bella, I'm sorry, please forgive me, I'm so unbelievably so-`` he blubbered, clearly distressed.

I gently placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "Don't be," I whispered, before wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him back down, and this time, it was my lips that crushed his.

The second kiss was different from the first one. It was just as intense, passionate, but in a different way. Slower, more deep…molten lava coursing through my veins instead of an uncontrollable wildfire. A heat that warmed the very marrow of my bones. It lasted longer too-how long, I had no idea. It could have been minutes or hours for all I knew. Finally, we both stopped to breathe, since we were both coming close to hyperventilating. Edward was staring deep into my eyes. I'm sure my expression mirrored his-a mixture of wonder, awe, adoration, tenderness, and…love? Yes, love. Maybe I had long ago fallen in love with him, and my brain just needed the loyalty Edward had shown me that night to approve and acknowledge my heart's feelings.

Funny how we both had to come within an inch of death for it to happen.

"You came back," I said softly, my voice barely audible. We both knew what I was talking about. His face hardened, immediately transforming into a mask of self hate, disgust and loathing.

"Yes I came back…after I left you first. I don't even understand how you can even look me in the eyes right now, a monster. I proved myself to be a cowardly, selfish asshole who only thinks about his own life in times of peril, leaving the woman who he loves to fend for herself." My mouth dropped open a little. Did he really think of himself that way? But before I had a chance to protest, he went on. "What makes it worse is that you'd already saved my life numerous times that night, and I repay you by running off, and guess how that ended? The result was you coming so close to dying that the doctors had all but given up and being in a coma for 3 days!" My mouth dropped open a little further. _Three days?_ I thought. It can't be. For the first time, I assessed my body's damage and winced. It wasn't too bad…well, yeah, it was. Basically like every injury I'd ever had in my life put together at the same time. By the ache in my lungs, I guessed I had some broken ribs, my leg was broken, my wrist sprained, cuts everywhere on my body, and if I was in a coma for three days-I still couldn't believe it-I probably had some kind of head injury.

"I mean, what kind of person am I?" He whispered, head falling into his hands, the picture of depression. He kept muttering to himself. I caught the words, "Don't deserve anyone…much less _her_," and "I deserve to go to hell." I decided I needed to step in.

"Edward?" I called loudly. He still had his head buried in his hands.

"Yes, Bella?" He answered, his voice strained.

"Shut up," I said firmly. He finally raised his head and gaped at me.

"Look, I don't blame you at all…" I continued. "Well, you should," he muttered. I glared at him. "Listen to me. Under those circumstances…anyone would have ran. You weren't thinking clearly, and even if you were, I wouldn't blame you. Coming back for me…it's beyond anything I would have expected anyone to do for me. You saved my life, restored my trust in the belief that a relationship can be stronger than the decision between life and death, and for that, Edward, I'll always owe you." My voice grew softer, saturated with gratitude. He sighed, clearly unconvinced, but smiled. "If you hadn't saved my life first, would I have been able to do any of those things?" I frowned at him, pouting stubbornly. Edward laughed gently. "Fine. Let's just say we're even." Deciding that that was the best offer I was going to get, I shook Edward's hand. "Even," I agreed. At that moment, the door opened again and the Headmaster came in.

I smiled, surprised, but Edward stiffened. The Headmaster stopped in the doorway, his quick intelligent eyes taking in the our intimate positions, missing nothing: the way Edward was seated on the side of my bed, the way we were leaning slightly toward each other and the way Edward was playing absentmindedly with my hair. He didn't say anything, but I thought I saw something like approval in his stern grey eyes.

"Mr. Cullen," he said, nodding toward Edward, then turned to me. "Miss Swan, I'm glad to see you're conscious." An awkward silence ensued. I still had no idea what the headmaster was doing here. "I've already talked with Mr. Cullen…but I'd just like to offer you my very sincere apologies about sending you two on such a dangerous mission." My eyes widened. It seemed surreal-Edward and I had just had a serious making out session, and now the Headmaster was apologizing to _me._

"Edward, help me up," I commanded.

"What?" He asked, thoroughly shocked.

"You heard me." He wordlessly pulled me to my feet. I winced-this was worse than all the accidents that resulted from the time Charlie signed me up for gymnastics when I was 9 put together, but I tried not to let it show. I hobbled over to the Headmaster and gave him a hug. I'm not sure who was more shocked-Edward or the Headmaster.

"It's okay. I forgive you, sir," I said, smiling. Then I sobered up.

"What happened to the SSN?"

"Thanks to you two, the main leaders of the organization are captured, and the rest are being searched out. It turns out that the SSN was part of a worldwide criminal organization that included, but certainly was not limited to capturing and selling women as slaves. The FBI and the CIA as well as several other organizations are currently investigating it, and quite successfully, thanks to the video clip Mr. Cullen managed to record."

"Was anyone killed?" I asked.

"Two people-thankfully I managed to arrive and prevent an autopsy on the two dead people so no questions were raised on how one guy died of a broken neck, and the other of poison dart frog venom." He raised an eyebrow in my direction, and I blushed. I was horrified that I'd actually killed someone, but somehow, when the life was being choked out of me, my brain lost all reason and I had injected the poison from the ring that I'd never intended to use.

"Speaking of that…were any of our gadgets recovered?" I asked, fidgeting.

"I managed to recover your boots, and your barrette." He held them out to me, and I put them on the table next to the bed. Then it hit me-Thanksgiving was tomorrow. Oh, crap.

"Edward," I turned facing him, "I'm pretty sure our families haven't missed the fact that we've been missing for the past 4 days."

"The Headmaster granted me permission to notify them of our mission. Both Alice and Rose passed out when they found out the discovery and destruction of the top notch deadly secret society that was the only thing on the news for the past few days was our doing. Your dad almost had a heart attack. But none of them were notified of the, well, critical condition you were in." He flinched.

"Forget about me, how are you?" I asked, staring at the cloth band-aid wrapped around his upper right arm. He rolled his eyes.

"What I have is _nothing_ compared to what you have."

"Yeah, right." I waved my arm dismissively. "So Headmaster, shouldn't we be going home now that I'm conscious? I don't want to miss Thanksgiving with everyone." Both Edward and the Headmaster gaped at me.

"You can't go home like that!" Edward practically shouted.

"Try me. I'm going home, and you can't stop me." I nodded thoughtfully. Normally, I was a pretty non-festive person, but I was not somebody to ignore major holidays like Thanksgiving. "I should call Charlie-let him know we're having a party tomorrow. You can invite your parents, and I already invited Leah, Jake and Emily last week and told them to bring anyone they wanted. Since we did such a good job, the least you could do is let us go home and spent the holidays with our families, sir," I added, looking at the Headmaster pleadingly. He muttered his consent, and something that sounded a lot like, "Impossible girl."

EPOV

Two hours later, we were on the plane back to Nebraska. Bella's face was white, and she was biting on her lip, trying to hide the pain while I looked on helplessly. It had been nearly impossible to get the nurses to release Bella from the hospital. I had to admit, even though she was still breathtakingly beautiful, she had seen better days. With her head wrapped in a band-aid, her wrist and leg in a cast, and though you couldn't see it, her entire ribcage was wrapped in a white cloth. I just had a cloth around my arm, and a faint scar across my side. Bella looked at me staring at her sadly, and smiled, obviously trying to distract me.

"You know, since I'm new to this love thing, now that you've kissed me, does that mean I'm your girlfriend?" She asked lightly.

"If you want to be," I said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek lightly. She giggled. "Sure."

"Since I'm still curious, when do you think you first fell for me?" She teased. I groaned, closing my eyes. "C'mon, Bella, I'm tired."

"You can go to sleep after you answer my questions."

"Fine-I fell in love with you when we were dancing at the Halloween ball. Happy now?"

"Very," Bella replied, but I detected a trace of sadness in her voice. "You were really in love with me that long?"

"Would I lie to you? Now I want to go to sleep."

"One more question-what was going on in your head right before you kissed me for the first time?"

"Um…" I said, fidgeting uncomfortably, "Well, I really don't know. I was so relieved you were alive, and shaken over how close I'd gotten to losing you. I knew then that, no matter what the consequences were, I had to do that at least once, since I might not have another chance. Feel your lips against mine, I mean." Bella was silent, her poker face on, expression unreadable. "What are you thinking?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing of consequence," she said, smiling. "Now you really need to go to sleep-I've bothered you enough." I was about to protest, but then, she reached over and kissed my lips gently, lightly tracing my nose and eyelids with her fingers, and before I knew it, I was asleep.

BPOV

I was undoubtedly the stupidest person that ever existed. Only I would attempt to make a Thanksgiving dinner for, let me see, oh yeah, at least 12 people with 2 mending ribs, a broken leg, and only one capable arm. My motives were mostly to prove to a skeptical Edward that it _was_ possible and I _could_ do it alone, refusing a concerned Rose's offer of help. My friends from La Push were coming, as well as Edward's parents. I was completely frazzled, snapping out at poor Charlie every time he came within 10 feet of the kitchen to try and help. The guests were going to arrive in about 6 hours, and so far I needed to bake the turkey, roast yams, make mashed potatoes, make a salad, make two pies, etc. etc. the list goes on and on. Somehow, maybe God decided to take pity on me for once, I managed to do it, but even my mad cooking skills couldn't prevent flour ending up in my partially singed hair, burns all over my hands, and a small cut on my right wrist. Looking at the clock, I discovered I had exactly 27 minutes left, so hurriedly I took a shower and threw on the red halter dress Alice had provided, then cursed. It revealed about all my cuts and bruises. I took it off, and pulled on a pair of sweats-about the only thing that I could get on with my cast and all, and a hoodie. It's not like this was a black tie occasion and it _was_ my house. The doorbell rang, and I ran downstairs to begin welcoming my guests. When I saw that it was Edward, I smiled, and kissed him lightly on the lips, ignoring Alice and Rose who "aww-ed". When they found out I was dating Edward, both had freaked, attracting much unwanted attention at the airport. "Everything looks great," he complimented. "I told you I could do it," I said smugly.

As I lifted the knife to cut the turkey, Jake suddenly shouted, "Wait! Bella, we didn't go around the table and have everyone say what they're thankful for yet!" Leah rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Jake? Are you kidding me?" He grinned from ear to ear.

"Nope! But I'll start-I'm thankful for Bella and Edward coming back alive," he said in a more serious voice.

"I'm thankful that Bella and Edward have both found somebody-each other," Esme added, smiling at Jake. My new Avalon High friends and La Push friends were getting along great.

"I'm thankful that Bella is an amazing cook!" Emmett called out, practically drooling while eyeballing the turkey. We all laughed, and so it went, until it got to Edward and me. "I'm also thankful that Bella is alive," Edward said quietly.

"C'mon, Bells, what are you thankful for?" Emily asked. _For my caring and awkward father,_ I thought, _for the best friends anyone could have, for my school, for being alive, for a boyfriend that I can respect and who never gave up on me…_What I actually said out loud was, "I'm thankful it's time to eat!" Everyone cheered at my lame excuse of a joke, I cut the turkey, and we all dug in.

**A/N: I think this chapter is so cute! Don't forget to review and tell me your summary ideas!!!!!! =D YAY!! And so the romance starts…**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews!!! I thank Tommygrl1997 and Adolescent Heart x3 for their ideas on the summary!!! Yeah, sorry if you think the last chapter was a bit awkward, but never having personally been in a relationship w/ as much chemistry going on as there is b/w Bella and Edward, I had to make up quite a bit, so yeah…sorry again if it sucked. Okay, I'll shut up now and let you enjoy the story. ;)**

EPOV

It was a few days after the Thanksgiving party. Bella had been ecstatic that Jacob, Leah, Emily and her dad had been getting along so well with me. Of course, what she didn't know was that I had been threatened in 4 different ways by the people previously named. 10 minutes after Jacob arrived, he told me he'd make my life a living hell if I so much as raised my voice a fraction above ordinary conversation level with Bella. Leah had glared daggers at me, and told me that if she ever got an inkling I even _looked_ at another girl for a second, she'd personally track me down and murder me. Emily, who seemed to be the nicest of them all, told me calmly that if I ever hurt Bella physically or emotionally, she'd make sure I felt the pain a thousand times over. Then, she'd patted me on the back and congratulated me, telling me Bella didn't date just anyone. Mood swing much? Charlie's hand kept twitching toward his gun during his lecture.

Anyway, I was at Bella's house. She wasn't allowed back at school yet, as her health was too fragile for that. She was not happy, glaring at her bedroom wall. Bella hated being cooped up.

"It's like being a caged bird!" She grumbled. Emmett laughed, while Rose and Jasper looked on amusedly. Charlie had only allowed me to visit on the condition that someone else always had to be with us. Nice to know he trusts me so much, right?

"Well, now you know how a caged bird feels," Emmett joked, earning him a smack from Rose. "Bella, you do know this is for your own benefit, right?" Jasper asked. Bella groaned. "Oh no, not you too!"

"Well, you did kind of make enemies with the entire female population the second you two made your relationship public," Rose pointed out. I shifted awkwardly-I hated being the reason Bella was home. A flashback came to me.

_Flashback_

_Against all our protestations, Bella insisted on going to school the Monday after Thanksgiving. We had barely pulled in the parking lot, when the car was surrounded by girls. _

_ "So is it true? You're going out with my Eddie?" Lauren hissed, taking advantage of Bella's ill health to be rude to her. "Lauren…back off," I nearly growled. "I'm not yours, never was, never will be."_

_ "Eddie, why did you have to go out with a slut like her when you could've had me? Don't you see she's just throwing herself at you? It's sickening," she whined. I had to smirk at the irony of this. "You're one to talk," Bella muttered, stepping out of the car. The instant she did so, Lauren slapped her across the face. Bella narrowed her eyes, an angry flush spreading up her neck. I knew her well enough to know this was not a good sign. "Do something!" I hissed to Jasper, who was in the back seat. "And get killed? I don't think so-you're her boyfriend, it's your responsibility." Rose, who was parked next to us with Emmett, said smirking, "Jazz is right. Are you crazy? This is too good to stop." Emmett agreed. "I love angry Bella," he sighed. "Go Bella!" Alice cheered. I cursed the pixie for encouraging her, which led inevitably to Bella somehow flipping herself into the air by using her crutches (don't ask me how, I really don't know) landing splat on Lauren's back and getting a free piggy back ride from Lauren all the while pulling her hair, while Lauren squealed and ran all around the parking lot, Alice and Rose both egging Bella on with cheers of "Yeah Bella! You show that #*#6 pig!!!" After that, the Headmaster decided it would be best for all of us (as well as the school's reputation) for Bella to stay home and rest for the rest of the week._

Anyway, I was exploring Bella's room, trying to get a clue of what to get her for Christmas. All I could see was books, books, and more- guess what?- books. I picked up Jane Eyre and raised my eyebrows at Bella.

"It's a good book," she grumbled.

"Seriously, it's about misplaced trust, sadness, hardship and love between a ferocious monster and a young innocent being."

"Kind of like a lion falling in love with a lamb," Bella answered.

"Kind of like our situation," I replied. Bella nodded. "I agree." Everyone looked up, surprised, at this. I expected her to protest vehemently against being compared to a lamb.

"Though, Edward," she continued, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "I didn't know you thought of yourself as a lamb." I just stared stunned at her, while the rest of the room erupted in laughter. "Wow, the great Edward Cullen speechless for once," Emmett sighed. "Shame no one recorded this moment."

"One step ahead of you, dude," Jazz said smirking, pulling a mini recording device off his jacket sleeve. "Alice put me up to it," he explained apologetically. Alice was currently at home, on the phone planning a Christmas party with Esme. I had finally recovered my voice. "I am not a lamb!" I shouted defiantly. "Sure, sure," Bella said, erupting into giggles again.

Ah, good times, good times.

BPOV

I walked apprehensively up to the room and reached out to knock, then paused. Was I ready to accept this fate and undergo numerous hours of torture? I had no other choice. I knocked. "Come in!" a chirpy voice called out. Like a prisoner approaching the guillotine, I stepped in.

"Alice," I took a deep breath. "I need you to take me shopping." She squealed, clapping her hands together. "I knew you would come around! I knew you would finally see my side of this and finally cave in to the many desires and pleasures of shopping!"

"Ali," I sighed, "I'm only asking you this because it's an emergency. I need to get my Christmas shopping done." Her face slowly transformed from excitement to horror.

"YOU MEAN THAT WITH CHRISTMAS IN 2 DAYS, YOU STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN YOUR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS BOUGHT AND WRAPPED AND PLACED UNDER THE TREE???"

I shifted awkwardly. "Yeah, pretty much, but I couldn't think of anything to get!" I added defensively. "ROSE!!!!" Alice shrieked. Rose came running, her face panicked. "What's wrong?"

"Bella hasn't gone Christmas shopping yet!" Rose looked at me seriously, then shook her head slowly. "Oh boy, you _are_ in trouble." I gulped.

EPOV

I ran my hand through my hair distractedly while browsing the aisles. Bella was making it very hard for me to get her a present, telling everyone that she was only accepting under fifty dollar presents. Originally it was under twenty five, but Alice had spent six and a half hours convincing her to get the price up to fifty. But back to the point. What could I get her that was under fifty dollars that would show her how much she meant to me? I knew she'd probably be happy with a fifteen dollar gift card to Barnes and Noble, but that somehow didn't seem fitting. At last, an idea came to me, and I grinned. And best of all? She couldn't turn it down, since it didn't cost me a cent.

BPOV

I sighed. After 6 hours of shopping with the mad pixie and the insane devil, I was exhausted, but at least I'd bought all my presents. I wondered if Edward would like his present. I sure hoped so-it took me two hours to find the nearly broken down store and it cost a fortune. Okay, so maybe more like 135 dollars, but to me, that was a fortune. I had ripped the price tag off-no need for him to know how much it cost. Alice and Rose had both approved it. Anyway, as soon as I got back to the Cullen house where me and Charlie would be spending Christmas- he seemed to warm up to Edward when he got the invitation to stay over here, seeming genuinely touched-I had to take a shower and let Alice and Rose get me ready for my date with Edward. Since I _was_ his girlfriend, he had insisted on taking me out on a proper dinner. Luckily, Edward would be arriving in half an hour, so the torture was almost over. First Rose straightened my hair, then decided she didn't like it, so curled it instead, then decided it was better straightened. In the end, she tied my hair up in an elegant French knot, but left two locks hanging down, framing my face. She curled those. Alice worked on my makeup. She decided on a silvery eye-shadow, making my eyes seem smoky and almost luminous. She applied something to my cheeks making them seem soft, silky and with a barely noticeable silver sheen to them, adding to the illusion that moonlight was hitting my face. She also applied a light layer of clear lip gloss and painted my nails clear too. As for my dress…it was deep blue, had a v-shaped neckline, came tightly to my waist, and then flowed gently down. When I looked into the mirror, I didn't recognize myself-I even checked to make sure the mirror wasn't a window and that my reflection wasn't just some ghostly, silvery moon fairy on the other side, which cause Rose and Alice to laugh.

"Admit it-Rose and I are geniuses," Alice said smugly.

"You totally are. If I wasn't seeing it right now, I wouldn't believe that I could look like this." Rose's eyes softened.

"Bella, you've always been this beautiful, all Alice and I did was bring to beauty out and make it more obvious." My eyes were tearing up, but I couldn't cry or else Alice would kill me for ruining her so carefully applied makeup. Instead, I threw my arms around them and hugged them both. At that moment I heard the door opening.

"Go on, Bella, Edward's waiting," Rose gently pushed me toward the direction of the stairs. As I turned to go, I heard Alice say in a tearful, choked voice, "Aww, Rosie, our little Bells is growing up."

I seriously should have brought a camera with me. The look on Edward's face was purely comical when he looked at me. I was flattered beyond belief, but I tried not to show it, instead bouncing downstairs lightly. Shoving him playfully on the shoulder, I teased, "What, Edward, don't even recognize me anymore?" That seemed to shake him out of his daze. "Bella, you probably already know this, but I just want to tell you that you look absolutely stunning." I tried to hide my grin, unsuccessfully, which just made him grin.

"Thanks! You don't look half bad yourself." I said, making the understatement of my life. He was dressed in a tux and looked _hot._ Not that I would ever admit it.

"I just called you stunning, and the best you can come up with is 'you don't look half bad?'" He complained.

"Yup!" I beamed. "Seriously though, I owe how I look tonight to Ali and Rose."

"Not true," he muttered under his breath, then smiled. "Let's go."

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" I grumbled, crossing my arms.

"You'll see soon enough, we're almost there," he answered. 5 minutes later, he parked the car. "We're eating here?" I asked, looking at the dark forest in disbelief. He chuckled.

"Silly Bella, of course not. We're eating _there_," He wrapped his arms around me and turned me around to face the other direction. I gasped, finding that I was facing the coast. A couple hundred yards out to sea, was a gigantic boat and at the dock, there were little rowboats to row out to the big boat. Edward smiled, offering me his hand. I took it immediately. "Wow," I whispered, the wind ruffling my hair a bit. "I know," he agreed, lips against my right ear. I shivered. Hopefully he didn't notice.

"Are you sure you know how to row?" I asked worriedly. Not that I couldn't swim if we tipped over, but still. "Yes," he rolled his eyes, "will you stop worrying?" Ugh, I hated rowboats. Okay, so normally I didn't, but this one seemed to be particularly wobbly and I was getting seasick. "You look kind of green," Edward commented. "Thanks," I answered sarcastically. Finally, _finally_ we arrived at the big ship and men hoisted us up.

"Last name?" the guy at the desk asked us. "Cullen," Edward answered.

"Ah, follow me," we followed him to a small room, empty of people. Inside, there was a small, round table, two chairs on opposite sides of it, and a single candle flickering in the center of the table. The desk guy left us, and Edward took my coat.

"Cheesy," I commented when Edward held out my chair for me, though on the inside, I was swooning at how romantic it all was. "I try," he smiled at me, making my heart flutter, probably hearing something in my voice that betrayed how genuinely touched I was. As if reading my thoughts, he asked me, "Why do you hide your emotions so much? I never know what you're really thinking." I felt my face go blank, poker face on. "See my point?" He gestured toward my expressionless face. "I really don't know. When I was going through a…difficult time in my life, I knew that if I showed any pain, I would be causing everyone I loved more pain, so I decided it was safest to guard my emotions, so they wouldn't know how…bad I really felt inside. Now guarding my feelings has become something of a habit." I shrugged, a bit uncomfortable. I had never told anyone that. "It's…bugging me. Always as if you have a shield up, one that I can't go through. You could be feeling anything right now, and I wouldn't know." His voice sounded a bit choked. I felt guilty-he had no clue whether I really returned his feelings or not. I reached over and touched his arm gently. He didn't pull away. "Edward, do you want to know what I'm thinking right now?" He looked up, and nodded. "Okay, I'm thinking how unbelievably happy I am right now and how lucky I am to have a boyfriend like you. I love you, Edward, I want you to know that, and if you know me at all, you'll know that I'm not putting on an act right now." We just stared into each other's eyes, as cheesy as that sounds. Our moment was broken when our waiter entered and cleared his throat. "Hello, my name if Felix, may I offer you anything to drink?" Funny, he seemed to be only talking to me. "Sure, I'll have a raspberry lemonade," I said, smiling at him. Charlie had always taught me to be polite to waiters/waitresses ("since they serve you all night, the least people could do is be civil to them") He blinked, then broke into a wide smile. _Weird_…

"I'll have a Coke," Edward said. Was it just me, or was his voice slightly colder as he spoke to Felix?

"Sure thing, man," Felix smiled mockingly at him before exiting. I could have swore Edward glared at the spot where he'd been standing for a second. "Is anything wrong?" I asked. He shook his head, mumbling something that sounded like, "So oblivious."

"So, what are you going to order?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Glancing down at the menu, I just realized that it was an Italian restaurant. On closer inspection, I realized just how high the prices are. I made a mental note to myself to pay the bill.

"Oh, I don't know, you?"

"Uh, the mushroom ravioli," I said, picking the cheapest thing on the menu, which was 12 dollars. Edward chuckled. "That's an appetizer, but you can get that too."

"Fine, then, I'll have the chicken marsala." The second cheapest thing on the menu, which was 18 dollars. Holy crap this place was expensive. Whatever, I was paying the bill anyway, no matter what Edward said. Then I changed the subject to Christmas, swimming, our childhood, and, for some very odd reason, sushi. At that moment, James entered again.

"So, are you ready to order?" he asked, looking at me, leering slightly. What the heck? "I'll have the chicken marsala," I said. "You want anything else?" He waggled his eyebrows, suggestively. Why would I? I already ordered, didn't I? I was saved from having to answer by Edward. "I'll have the seafood linguini." Now the coldness in his voice was obvious. "Thank you. That's all," I said, offering James another smile, hoping he'd just go away. "Sure, babe," he said, walking away. Wasn't this a formal restaurant?

Edward just groaned. I looked questionably at him. "Why did he ask me if I wanted anything else? I had already ordered, and why were you glaring at him?" Edward looked up at me, the coldness in his eyes replaced by amusement. "You really don't know?" I shook my head. "He was flirting with you Bella, so naturally I was a bit upset." I blushed furiously. "No he wasn't, he was…just…uh," I stopped. Now that Edward had pointed it out, it seemed really obvious. "God, I'm stupid. Wow, I could have been egging him on for all I knew."

"You were, though it's really not fair to dazzle people like that, even if they are shamelessly flirting with a woman with a boyfriend."

"I do not dazzle people. What in the world are you talking about?" Then… "Wait…I dazzle people?" Edward rolled his eyes, "Yes, Bella, you dazzle people. It's a mystery you haven't noticed before." I grinned. I would really have to try out my newfound dazzling skills sometime.

The rest of the dinner passed without event, going something like this: Felix returning with the food, Felix flirting, Edward glaring, me trying not to gag, Edward and I enjoying our food, Edward and I sharing dessert, Edward choking on the mints the restaurant gave us, me using the Heimlich maneuver on him, and finally a huge argument between us about who should pay the bill.

"Bella, please." He sighed. I shook my head stubbornly. "Eighty-six dollars! At least let me pay half of it." He sighed again. "No, I'm the guy so I should pay the bill."

"You are being totally sexist there," I pouted. He groaned. "Of all the women I have met, you've got to be the first woman who would be so darn stubborn about this issue."

"Thank you. That's a compliment," I said, reaching into my purse. His hand closed on my wrist, stopping me. I looked up, startled to see him so close. His face was mere inches from mine. "Bella," he breathed, his cool breath fanning my face, "Are you my girlfriend?" Stupidly enough, my mind was fogging up. I struggled to remain coherent. "Yes…of course."

"Yes…and do boyfriends sometimes give their girlfriends gifts?"

"Yes," I mumbled, completely lost in his eyes.

"Good, so consider this as a gift I'm giving you." He leaned in closer.

"Um…" I said.

"Now are you going to let me pay the bill?"

"Um…sure?" it came out like a question. "Thank you," he whispered, closing the distance between us. Too soon, he pulled away, grinning. "Ha, I won," he said, gleefully.

"That wasn't fair," I said, grumbling. "All's fair in love and war," Edward said innocently. I glared at him. Stupid pumpkin-headed moron. Idiot boy. I bet he had hypnotizing powers. And he said I dazzle people?

"Excuse me?" He raised his eyebrows at me. Oh, crap, I did not just say that out loud. "I dazzle you?" He asked, interestedly. I felt a flush creep up my neck.

"You…no….yes…whatever…UGH!!!" I shouted, stomping out and jumping into a rowboat. Edward, laughing uncontrollably, followed, and signaled for us to be lowered down. He was still bent over laughing, and his shoulders were shaking. I grabbed an oar and whacked him on the head with it.

"Ow! Assault, assault!" He shouted. "UGH!" I said, jumping on him and covered his mouth with my hand. His eyes twinkled with amusement, and I realized I had basically just pounced on his lap. I blushed, and released him, muttering "Sorry." I could have sworn he said, "I enjoyed it," but it was probably just the wind.

We were walking along the coastline, headed back to the car when I remembered something. "Edward…you said I dazzle people. Do I dazzle _you_?" I asked, curiously, looking into his eyes. He blushed, and muttered something, looking down. "Hey, look at me! You didn't answer my question." He kept on walking. I stepped in front of him and placed both hands on his chest to make him stop. A tingling electric feeling coursed through my fingertips and I shivered. He finally met my eyes. "Yes, you do," He said, before pulling me to him and crushing his lips against mine. As I gasped for air, he pulled away slightly, murmuring, "Every day, every night, every moment, while you look on, oblivious. You really don't know what you do to me, every time you say my name, do you? Every time you kiss me on the cheek, or touch me even slightly. You don't know what you're doing to me right now, do you Bella?"

"I do now," I whispered, and as her kissed me, there on the beach, lost in our own little bubble while the world went on around us, for once in my life, everything felt exactly, totally, 100 percent right.

"ALICE, IT'S 5:30 FOR GOD'S SAKE!" I shrieked, using my pillow as a shield against the mad pixie who was jumping up and down on my bed.

"Yes, but IT'S CHRISTMAS! So unless you want me to dump a bucket of water on your head, GET UP!!!!!" I sighed in resignation. "Is everyone else up yet?" I asked.

"Nope, I decided on waking you up first." Lucky me. "Now get up!" I groaned, put on a bathrobe, and headed into the bathroom. When I walked out, I heard curses coming from Carlisle and Esme's room. I smiled. Who knew the calm, kindly doctor could swear so well? Within 10 minutes, though, everyone was downstairs. Charlie looked slightly frightened of Alice. I rolled my eyes. Who wasn't?

"Bella and Eddie, open my present first!" Emmett shouted, handing us each a bag with Rudolph on it. I reached in and pulled out something soft. It turned out to be a stuffed lion. Just then, Edward yelled in horror. "Emmett…you did not just give me a stuffed lamb for Christmas." Sure enough, there in his arms was a cute white lamb with curly white fur and a peach belly with huge, innocent eyes. Rose, Em, Jazz and I burst out into laughter. "Inside joke," I explained to a confused looking Alice. "Listen to that recording Jazz has and you'll understand." In addition to the stuffed lion, I also got 5 get-out-of-shopping passes from Alice, a new, expensive looking phone from Renee and Charlie, who'd completely ignored my wishes of a under-50 dollar gift, a scarf and gloves from Esme, a gift card from Carlisle, a variety of gadgets from Rose, Jazz, Emily and Leah, and a charm bracelet from Jake with a wooden, hand-carved wolf on it. Finally, it was Edward's turn. He had been a bit annoyed when he found out the watch that secretly concealed a GPS, pocketknife, lighter, video recorder and camera cost 135 dollars, thanks to the price on the box that I had somehow overlooked. He handed me a similar small box. I opened it and found a glittering, small, carefully carved, exquisitely beautiful diamond heart on a silver chain. "Before you protest," Edward added, "I inherited it from my mother, so it didn't cost me anything."

"Oh, Edward," I said, wiping away tears, "I absolutely love it." I kissed him gently, and everyone made aww-ed. All in all, it was the best Christmas ever.

But all good things must come to an end, and before I knew it, I was back on the way to Avalon High. A new car, a baby blue Lamborghini, pulled up, and my eyes widened. "Must be the new student everyone's talking about," Alice whispered. The door opened, and a stunningly beautiful girl stepped out. She was wearing sunglasses, and her strawberry blond hair came down to her waist. The stranger had a perfect body and figure, about 2 inches taller than me, and getting out of her car, she turned and started walking when she saw Edward and stopped. Slowly, she raised her sunglasses revealing striking aquamarine eyes, which widened in shock and recognition. Beside me, Edward stiffened and froze. "Tanya," he breathed.

**A/N: Oh, now the drama begins! FYI Tanya is the other love of Edward's life, who dumped him shortly after Edward's mom dies. Review, review, review…I mean, this is a freaking 8 pages in Word Document! So I would really like a review…the more I get, the longer I make my chapters!**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N Thanks for reviewing! Don't worry, Tanya's only going to be in this one chapter. Since I'm happy with my reviews, this chapter will be super, incredibly long. I hope you're happy. Since slutty Tanya is kind of a fan fiction cliché, I made Tanya evil. Enjoy! **

BPOV

I looked up at Edward's still frozen face, then at the expressions of disgust, hatred, and surprise on the faces of Rose, Em, Jazz, and Alice. Since no one looked like they were about to be introducing me any time soon, I took matters into my own hands.

"Hi, I'm Bella, Edward's girlfriend." _Edward's girlfriend? _Where did that come from? I usually hated to be introduced, and forever known as, someone's girlfriend, instead of an actual person.

"Hello, Bella, my name is Tanya." Her tone was friendly, but her eyes were as cold as ice. Then I realized why-didn't Edward mention having an ex-girlfriend named Tanya? The first bell rang, interrupting my thoughts. I kissed Edward goodbye and headed off to biology.

EPOV

I still couldn't believe she was here. Where was she four years ago? Now I couldn't get her out of my head. That was wrong, I loved Bella now. Of that I was absolutely certain, even if I wasn't sure about anything else. Finally, the bell rang, and I walked off to gym. Before I got there, however, I bumped into Tanya.

"Edward, may I talk to you privately?" She asked.

"Um…sure?" It came out like a question.

"Thanks." She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the nearest empty classroom.

"Edward…" she began. "Why did you leave?" I blurted out. For a moment, it was like I was thirteen years old again, vulnerable and hurt. Her face looked pained.

"I don't know…" Tanya said slowly, "I guess I was a bit frightened. You were so depressed, and down because of your mom. I didn't want any part of it. So when I got a job offer in Seattle, I took it right away. I'm truly sorry if I hurt you. I just wanted to apologize." As I looked into Tanya's nervous, broken, anticipating face, the lyrics of the song Apologize ran through my head. _"It's too late to apologize…"_

Or maybe not.

"Of course I forgive you, Tanya," I said. She leaned forward, and hugged me tightly. I stiffened, then relaxed, hugging her back.

"Oh God, you don't know how much I missed that," she murmured into my chest. We were interrupted by Rose and Emmett, who were standing outside the classroom gaping openmouthed at us. Tanya noticed too, for she released me. "See you later, Edward," Tanya said softly, before leaving. Emmett and Rose were still staring at me. Did I detect a trace of contempt in their gazes?

"What? She apologized, and I accepted her apology," I said defensively. Rose shook her head. "It's nothing. However, I really do hope you have your priorities straight, because if you don't and end up hurting a close friend of mine…"

"Then it's you who'll be hurting in the end," Emmett said threateningly, before grabbing Rose and walking away leaving me completely clueless. What was up with them?

BPOV

"Okay, everyone, partner up!" I searched the room automatically for Edward, but found Tanya instead. Inwardly, I groaned. Why did _she_ have to be in my gym? My heart dropped when I saw her call, "Hey, Edward! Over here!" and watched as Edward, with a big smile on his face, walked over to where she was, not even looking at me, or checking if I was all right with it. An unexpected wave of pain washed over me, and it felt like someone was squeezing my heart, choking it. I thanked my lucky stars for my perfected poker face, as that was the only thing that kept my eyes from becoming moist.

"Hey, Emmett! Want to partner up?" I called. He looked surprised. "Are you sure? I thought you'd want to partner up with…" his eyes narrowed as he took in Edward and Tanya laughing together. "On second thought, yeah, I'll be your partner."

Today, we were trying out the gadgets we made in technology, and for the first time in living history, Emmett almost beat me. Emphasis on almost. It really wasn't my fault, okay, that's a lie, yes it was, seeing as I spent nearly the whole time closely scrutinizing Edward and Tanya, and so nearly tripped over my own feet. Needless to say, I was in a crabby mood for the rest of gym class. The miracle is, Emmett didn't tease me or question my mood.

I spent 5 minutes before lunchtime in the bathroom to make sure my poker face was absolutely perfect, and that I seemed every bit as content as usual. That time was a waste of effort when I stepped into the cafeteria and saw Tanya in my usual place next to Edward. Struggling to maintain my composure, I walked up behind him. He was having a hushed conversation with the rest of the table, excluding Tanya. So far, no one had noticed me.

"Look, I know you guys don't like her because of what she did to me, but if I can forgive her, you guys can too. She's already apologized, what more do you want?" Edward was whispering. I cleared my throat and he shot up. "Bella, hey!" I looked pointedly at Tanya and he looked appropriately embarrassed. "Um, I normally wouldn't let her sit there, but she sat there first and seeing as she's only at this school temporarily, I thought she could sit there for now." The only thing that kept me from pushing Tanya out of my seat, as well as the cafeteria, was the thought that she'd maybe, hopefully, be gone in a week or two. So instead, I sat next to Alice. Tanya beamed at me. To my credit, I didn't glare back. For lunch, I was only half paying attention, too busy emerged in my own thoughts. Did Edward like Tanya more than me? It sure seemed so, but he was probably only being nice since Tanya was new and was leaving soon. Yes, I would keep up the positive outlook on life no matter what. To prove it, I plastered a smile on my face, and actually complimented her. "Tanya, I love your nails. The design on them is so elegant!" While the rest of the table looked at me like I'd grown an extra head (I was definitely not the type of person to notice someone's nails, much less compliment them) Tanya smiled. "Oh yes, a special designer in Seattle did them for me." Then she hurriedly changed the subject. I looked more closely at the nails. They really were pretty; it looked like a few letters in an elegant, silver script were written on each one. I couldn't make them out, though. For the rest of lunch, I made myself relax and join in the conversation.

After afternoon classes ended, I joined my friends in the commons room. As soon as I entered, Tanya looked up and said sweetly to Edward, "Hey, would you mind giving me a tour of the school outside? I'd like to be able to go to the jogging track without getting lost." To his credit, he actually looked at me this time.

"Um, sure, Bella, do you mind?" I faked a laugh.

"What? Why would you ask me for permission? It's a free country." _Stay, stay, please stay…_

"Okay then, bye everyone," he said, allowing himself to be dragged through the door by the evil witch herself. _Wow, Bella, now she's the witch? A little jealous, are we?_ An annoying voice in the back of my head asked.

Of course not…I replied. Jeez, now I'm talking to myself.

_Sure you're not..._

You got that right. I'm not like that…wait, please don't tell me I'm turning into the kind of irrational possessive girlfriend who gets jealous every time their boyfriend talks to a girl!

_Of course you're not that kind of girlfriend. You're a _rational_ jealous possessive girlfriend. _

I don't know what you're talking about, and I'm not listening. *Mentally sticks fingers into ears.*

_Come on, Bella, you have reason to be jealous. He partnered with her, let her take your seat, and now is 'giving her a tour of the building.' He chose her over you in every possible way. Who knows what they're doing right now?_

No, no, no! Edward's not like that, he wouldn't cheat on me, so SHUT UP! I was answered with silence. Blissful, wonderful silence. But I couldn't get those traitorous thoughts out of my head.

"Rose…" I said hesitantly. Everyone instantly stopped talking at once. "Yes, Bella?"

"Am I really stupid to be jealous right now? Tell the truth."

"Oh Bella," Rose said, hugging me. Alice joined her. That was when Emmett exploded. "THAT'S IT! THAT SNEAKY, CONNIVING COW! SHE KNOWS PERFECTLY WELL WHAT SHE'S DOING, FLIRTING WITH EDWARD, AND HIM! LETTING HER, WITHOUT GIVING A DAMN ABOUT HOW HIS OWN GIRLFRIEND IS FEELING! WELL, WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH HIM, HE'LL FEEL SORRY ALRIGHT, THAT PATHETIC SON-OF-A-BIT-"

"Emmett! Tone it down, will you? People are staring," I hissed. With some effort, he calmed down, though his face was still purple with rage. Then I burst into giggles.

"Wow, Em, I didn't know you knew a word as big as 'conniving'." He smiled hesitantly and before I knew it, we were all laughing.

"But seriously, though," I said, calming down, "don't speak a word to Edward about this. He'll just beat himself up."

"He'd deserve it," muttered Jasper darkly. Alice and Rose nodded in agreement.

"That's not the point. And don't go beating him up either. After all, he _is_ my boyfriend." Em and Jazz reluctantly agreed.

Somehow, I made it to Thursday. Don't ask me how-half the time I was trying to avoid Edward, and the other half was spent trying to find him, and tear him away from Tanya. Classes had just ended, and I was returning a book to Mrs. Brown, the ELA teacher. She wasn't in the room, so I just left the book on her desk. Anyway, I had a strange feeling when I was in the room. You know how sometimes, when someone is watching you, you feel funny? Well, this was just the opposite. I'd grown so used to being watched by security cameras that the lack of someone watching me felt weird. That was when I noticed that the security camera in the corner of the room wasn't moving around and following my every movement like usual. It was probably just a malfunction-I'd have to speak with the Headmaster about it. After returning the book, I spotted Edward outside with-guess who?-Tanya. No one was really outside, since everyone was too busy studying for exams. I started walking towards them, and then three things happened, one after another.

Tanya suddenly leaned up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. I'm not talking gentle, quick kisses, I'm talking full make out session.

Edward pulled away quickly, turned around, and saw me. His eyes widened.

I ran.

Yes, pathetic as it seems, I sprinted in the opposite direction, tears blurring my vision. Okay, so I thought that Tanya's feelings for Edward were a little more than friendly, but I never expected Edward to have more than friendly feelings for her. I ran straight for the picnic tables where students ate lunch on nice days. No one was there now, so I collapsed on a bench in front of a tree. It was there, where I cried until my eyes ran dry, when I first felt that something was wrong. I don't know what alerted me to the danger, maybe it was instinct, or maybe it was the sound of grass rustling lightly against a shoe, but all I know is at that moment, every fiber in my body was screaming, _Move! _I lurched to the side just as a dart pierced the air where I had a second ago been sitting. Turning around, I saw a man step out from behind the tree, smiling eerily. He didn't attend this school, I realized with a shot of dread. I had barely enough time to form that realization, when he pulled out his silent dart gun and fired again. I rolled to the side, and sprang up, barely escaping the second dart. Then I reached into my jeans pocket, pulling out my gadget lipstick. Yanking off the top, it transformed into a sort of lasso. Swinging it above my head, I released it, and the loop part of the rope fastened itself on my attacker's dart gun. Yanking the rope back, the dart gun flew into the air and disappeared in the grass. Now we were both weaponless. He sprang at me, and before I had time to react, he had pinned me to the ground. I was desperate, and a flashback came to me of the time I'd watched the movie Get Smart and I remembered how the heroine in the movie had freed herself from the bad guy. _Desperate times call for desperate measures,_ I thought grimly, and then I did what was probably both the smartest, and the stupidest thing I'd ever done in my life. I kissed him.

On the up side, he released me in shock, and I was able to jam my elbow into his gut, and then incapacitate him. On the down side, I almost choked, he tasted so bad. Since a good spy always is prepared, I reached into my jacket pocket, pulled out a pack of mints and swallowed the rest of the pack. Ah, much better. Then I turned my attention back to my unconscious assailant. I was about to turn and report to the headmaster, when something caught my eye. Sometime during our struggle, his jacket had fallen off, revealing his bare arms. Tattooed on his right shoulder was a familiar pattern. The same pattern, in fact, that I'd seen on Tanya's nails, only enlarged. In silver, fancy script were the letters SSN. Seattle Slave Network.

"No…" I muttered, recoiling. I thought Edward and I'd gotten rid of that organization for good. Apparently I was mistaken. At the same time it really hit me-if Tanya had the same letters on her nails…

"Edward!" The cry escaped my lips before I could stop it. Sprinting back to the school, all the pieces fell into place. Tanya kissing Edward…it was obviously a ploy to separate us when no one else was around. It would be much easier to kill us if we weren't together. However, that plan had a fatal mistake-the SSN had underestimated me. Since Edward was the one with the recording, and since Edward was the one who had rescued me, the SSN had marked him as the dangerous one, not me. The broken security camera in Mrs. Brown's room and her unexplained absence…someone obviously didn't want the events that would happen there to be recorded. It was like a mathematical equation. Two plus two equals four. Tanya's membership in the SSN plus broken security camera equals Edward is in grave danger.

EPOV

I pushed Tanya away in disgust just in time to see Bella run away from me. In all honestly, I couldn't blame her. "What the hell, Tanya? Why would you do that?" I yelled.

"Maybe we should continue this conversation in a more private area?" She asked, completely unfazed. I nodded and followed her into Mrs. Brown's empty classroom. As soon as we entered, she whipped around and sprayed something in my face. I felt the urge to cough, but I couldn't…I was completely frozen. Tanya tossed the spray thingy in the garbage can, a smirk of satisfaction on her face. I know because at least I could move my eyes. I glared at her.

As she bent down, she tossed her hair to the side, revealing a tattoo on the back of her left shoulder. As I saw what it was, my mouth would have dropped open if I wasn't frozen. The letters SSN was written in elegant script across her left shoulder.

"Yes, Edward, I'm a part of the Seattle Slave Network. Do you understand now?" Tanya asked, smirking. I must have looked confused as to why she, a female, would want to join, because she continued, "Oh, it's not just a women slave network. It goes so much beyond that. You never questioned exactly why I left, instead satisfied with the explanation I gave you. The truth is, I left because I was invited to join the SSN. My parents didn't know, all they knew is that I received an offer to continue my spy training for free. The organization became my family." She laughed coldly. I was struck by how much her voice changed, the sweet undertone replaced by bitterness. "So when you helped destroy it, I naturally had to get my revenge. Only a handful of people escaped the FBI in this country. I was one of them. I came here to this school to kill the people who'd made my world collapse. Actually, at the beginning I didn't know it would be you I would have to kill; I found that out only later. But just because you're my ex-boyfriend doesn't mean I'll hesitate to do my job. My job was to distance you from Bella, separate you two when there were few people around, arrange for someone to kill Bella, and kill you myself." If I could move, I'd punch her in the face.

"To be honest, you didn't make my job hard for me. It was only too easy to separate you and that weak, pathetic, pitiful excuse of a human being you call a girlfriend." She looked at her watch. "Demetri should be done with her by now. I'm sorry it had to end like this." I gaped inwardly as her nails suddenly extended six inches, transforming instantly from beauty accessories into lethal weapons. "Good bye, Edward." Tanya raised a claw and slashed down. I braced myself for the pain, and for instant death. It never came.

"NO!" Bella leaped in front of me, and shoved me back so hard my back slammed into the wall. I gazed, stunned, the breath knocked out of me, but otherwise unharmed. Bella was not so lucky. While her face didn't get the full impact of Tanya's nails seeing as she was moving, it still received enough damage. The entire left side of Bella's face was gushing blood. Tanya's eyes widened with astonishment, but she recovered quickly, slashing again. Bella dodged, while I looked on helplessly. Whatever Tanya had squirted me with was beginning to wear off, though, as I could now move my lips. Bella turned, and spat her gum straight on Tanya's nails. They began to dissolve. I had to grin-thank god for metal-dissolving gum. Inwardly, I thanked Rose. Now weaponless on one hand, Tanya snarled at Bella before retreating a few steps. Bella pressed a button on her bracelet, and suddenly, it seemed like every alarm bell and siren in the building was activated. I smiled- trust Bella to connect her mini-alarm gadget to the school's security system. It was all over, and I could tell Tanya knew it too. With a growl, Tanya jumped up on the wall, her boots sticking to the wall, and began climbing up to the window. She only got halfway before Bella pressed another button on her belt. A tightly woven net made of iron threads sprang out of it. Right before the net enclosed her, Tanya pulled a concealed dagger with a four-inch long razor sharp blade out of her hair, and, eyes aflame, threw it at Bella, her aim impeccable.

I had just time enough to reach out and cry her name before the dagger embedded itself in Bella's body.

**A/N What do you think? Too much action? If you are extremely confused right now, then I failed entirely in my job as a writer, but tell me, and I'll try to explain it better. REVIEW!!!!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Okay, be honest, how many of you expected what I made happen last chapter, with Tanya being an agent of the SSN and all? My goal is to always catch you off guard. I'll bet you all thought she was going to force kiss Edward in front of Bella, Bella would get a broken heart, and there would be all this drama in which Edward tries to explain himself to Bella but Bella doesn't listen, and everyone hates Edward in the end, or something along those lines. **

BPOV

I was approaching the Golden Gates of Heaven.

_I was on an escalator, believe it or not, and was slowly ascending upward. Up ahead there were the magnificent gates that glowed so brightly I had to shield my eyes from them. Looking downward, I saw my bleeding body on a stretcher. It didn't look too good-positively painful, in fact. I felt bad for it, but right now, it was like my soul/spirit and body were disconnected. The escalator ride had come to an end, and I was standing among bright, fluffy clouds that I could not feel. I reached out with one hand to try to open the gates. I couldn't. It was like there was this invisible wall, or force field that stopped my hand about a centimeter away from the gleaming, golden handle._

_ "You can't open it," A voice said behind me, speaking my thoughts exactly. I turned to see a cloaked figure a few feet away. I shivered, feeling an inexplicable sense of fear. The figure before me, though I couldn't see him clearly because of his cloak, emanated an aura of power and beauty, yet at the same time, he was terrible. _

_ "It's not your time," he explained simply. Yeah, like that _really _cleared things up. _

_ "Okay, then…who are you?" I asked. He walked towards me and held out his hand. It was then that I really saw him clearly for the first time, and shuddered in loathing, terror and revulsion. He had no face. "I go by many names, but most know me as the Angel of Death. And there's really no need to be afraid, you know. I have never understood why mortals fear me so." He chuckled darkly. As he spoke, a wave of peace and contentment nearly overwhelmed me, undoubtedly caused by my new acquaintance. It had to be by far the strangest moment in my life. Here I was, standing outside the gates of Heaven having a conversation with Death. But now that my fear was gone, I took the opportunity to study him more, and satisfied myself with the knowledge that other than the sense of power he radiated, he really was no scarier than most horror movie characters. _

_ "If it's not my time, then why am I here?" I questioned, growing more at ease._

_ "You have came so close to dying that your soul immediately floated up, but, however, you have not yet died," he answered. _

_ "I suppose it's a comfort to see that when I do die, I'll go up to Heaven," I teased. He seemed happier, though surprised. I doubted that anyone had ever joked around with Death before. There was something seriously wrong with my brain. After that, I asked him a number of questions, though he barely answered any of them, such as "Is there a Hell as well?" (Yes), "What is Heaven like?" (You'll find out in time, dear child), "How old are you?" (As old as the Earth itself), "How do you manage to take care of all the things that have died?" (No comment), "Does reincarnation exist?" (Silence), and "Do you know when I actually will die?" (Only Destiny knows that). Yes, apparently there was a Destiny as well._

_ "Well, Isabella, I can't deny that it's been a pleasure talking to you, but I think it is time for you to return to Earth." He said gently. "I imagine many people are waiting for you there." I immediately felt guilty. I had completely lost track of time, completely immersed in my questions. I mean, how often can a person talk to Death? Now, looking down, I realized I could see everything I wanted. I saw myself lying unmoving and still in a hospital room, my face pale, one side completely covered in bandages. Alice was there, sobbing unashamedly into Jasper's shoulders. He was doing his best to comfort her, while tears rolled down his own usually impassive face. Somehow, I think his pain had nothing to do with Alice, for once. Emmett was beyond trying to comfort Rose. His shoulders shook and heaved with sobs, while Rose blew her nose loudly into a tissue. I observed the trash can was already full with them. Wow, you'd think I was already dead. Then I noticed the heart monitor-it was unsteady, and there would go long periods where it seemed like my heart completely stopped before it spluttered and stared again. That was strange-didn't Death say I was fine? As if reading my thoughts, he answered softly, "There is only so much time a body can go without its spirit, child. That is why people die when they lose their will to live." I barely heard him, my eyes concentrating on Edward instead. His eyes were locked on my face, as if willing me to wake up. He didn't shed a tear, but the hopelessness in his eyes was a thousand times worse. Edward's shoulders were hunched in defeat, and he just seemed broken, and…lost. Like he didn't know what to do, or who he was. Tears sprang to my eyes. "Just focus on the sensation of falling, Bella," Death spoke softly. I did as he told me to-it wasn't hard, if you've fallen down as much as I have, it's easy to imagine falling. That didn't mean I liked it, but it worked. I was dropping, drifting through air, slowly like a feather, descending down to Earth. Just before I lost sight of the Gates of Heaven, and the dark shadow standing next to them, I asked Death one last question: "Was this a dream, or was it real?" Death chuckled. _

_ "It is whatever you wish it to be, Bella. We part for now, but now, child, I think it is time for you to wake up."_

My eyelids fluttered open, and took in the scene before me. Everyone was staring at me like I had returned from the dead. Which wasn't too far off the mark, actually. I inhaled sharply from the pain-it was like a thousand knives were stabbing at my lungs with each breath, causing me pure agony. Charlie and the Headmaster were there now also, and the atmosphere was tense, like there had just been a heated argument. Charlie rushed to my side, and sighed in relief. "Bella…" he suddenly choked off, before fresh tears began running down his face. I just sat there in shock. Was my dad, Chief Charlie Swan, crying, actually crying?

"Dad…I'm alright. You can let go now," I said awkwardly. He pulled back, smiling apologetically at me. I turned my gaze to the Headmaster. "Sir, what happened to Tanya?" Everyone tensed. "Jeez, Bella, give us a moment to celebrate and be happy, for once." Alice scolded. The Headmaster answered my question. "She is currently locked up and under close watch by 15 well trained government guards, as is Demetri, the person you knocked out."

I sighed in relief, then winced in pain. Edward looked up, concerned, but didn't meet my eyes. "Um…just how bad I am?"

"I think I can safely say that you are one lucky girl. The knife didn't puncture any major organs, and missed your right lung by a centimeter. It's because of you that Mr. Cullen is alive today." Charlie glared at Edward, then at the Headmaster. "I trust that the school security system will be modified?" He growled. If I could, I would have kicked him, but settled for rolling my eyes instead. "Dad, don't be so uptight. I'll be up and about in no time," I reassured him.

"So it's basically like hide and seek?" I asked. Alice sighed, and Edward tried, unsuccessfully, to hide a smile. It was a month after the Tanya incident, as I had taken to calling it, and things had been slightly awkward between us. Edward blamed himself, I knew he did.

_Flashback_

_We were in the dorm room. "It should have been me," Edward said suddenly, fingers lightly tracing the faint scars on my cheek. I sighed. We had been over this a million times. "No, Edward, if it had been you, you would have died," I said firmly, and rather bluntly, I might add. He looked slightly offended. "What makes you think that?"_

"_Maybe the fact that you were frozen more solid than a rock, and needless to say, could not defend yourself." I replied. He had no answer to that, so I simply laughed._

"_I wish you would blame me somehow," he muttered. "Okay, I admit you were a teensy weensy bit of an idiot when you chose to hang out with Tanya, if it makes you feel better." He actually smiled this time, and I grinned, satisfied that I had somewhat pulled him out of his depressing mood. _

Anyway, back to the present. Two days ago, there was an announcement at breakfast about the annual Camouflage Hunter/Hunted Competition. Each year, 7 students would be singled out by the teachers who showed outstanding skills in every area. The seven would, somewhere outside the school, camouflage themselves to the best of their ability while the rest of the school went on a hunt to find them. Last one left received a medal in front of the entire school, and the winner was always mentioned to heads of major crime investigations around the school. It was really a fancier version of hide and seek, but Alice wouldn't admit it. Hide and seek sounded so _unprofessional._ In the last two years, Edward and Jasper had both won once. Alice wanted a girl to win and was without a doubt that I would be the victor this year.

When the seven names were announced, no one was surprised, except me. It was Edward, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, Jane, and _me._ I was stunned-I had only been in this school for about half a year! No one else was, though. Rose had just sighed at me when I sat in the seat unmoving for the rest of breakfast. The only rules of the competition were that you had to hide outside the school, within a mile of the school, and you had to disguise yourself somehow. The competition was tomorrow and I was nervous. I didn't really have much reason to be-if anyone should be nervous, it should be Emmett. How the heck he was going to blend in with his surroundings was a mystery to me. Alice informed me that last year he'd tried to make himself resemble a tree.

"Okay, let the Hunted be off!" I cursed as everyone else took off running. Before the game, I had bet Edward 25 bucks that I could remain hidden longer that him. It was the only way I could get Edward to not purposely let me win. Edward Cullen never backed off from a bet. Unfortunately for me, I simply did not own twenty five bucks at the moment. Even worse, my wound, though healing, prevented me from running more than 125 yards without gasping in pain. I looked at my watch. I had exactly 12 minutes out of the 15 total to hide myself.

Since distance was going to be an impossibility, I took a walk around the school, grinning as I saw Emmett jump in the pool, probably 'disguising' himself as a porpoise or something. Directly behind the school, there was a small courtyard full of statues made of a strange dark metal. I made my way there, leaned against a statue and groaned as I took in my surroundings. 9 minutes left, and there was nowhere I could camouflage myself. I stood up, then froze. The hand that had been leaning against the statue was covered in a black dust, the exact same color of the statue. _No way_, I thought, rubbing my other arm on it. A slow smile spread over my face as I looked at the mysterious dark dust, now on both hands, an idea forming.

Eight minutes later, I was ready. Now I completely resembled any of the statues in the courtyard, covered in head to toe with the dark dust. I glanced at my watch. 45 seconds remaining. My mind racing, I quickly stuck a pose. So that no one would notice I had no nameplate, I posed as one of the nameless villains the spy statues were supposedly fighting against, and froze in front of a spy who was aiming a kick at my face, in block mode. 2 seconds later, a bell rang, and students came pouring out. Barely restraining a giggle as I heard Emmett's loud curse when he was discovered, I felt my neck and arm muscles begin to hurt. There was no way I could be this still for any huge amount of time. Closing my eyes, I tried a trick Jake had taught me in order to dull any torture I might be submitted to during my career. Basically, I slowed down my body's metabolism dramatically, so my body was numb, and staying still was much easier. The only problem with this move, I thought as I stifled a yawn, was that it was really too easy to…fall…asleep. That was my last thought before my eyelids closed and I succumbed to the slumber, still frozen in block mode position.

_Uh oh_, I thought as my eyes fluttered open again. Exactly how long had I been asleep? The sun was setting, casting shadows everywhere. Somewhere in the distance, I heard someone yelling. I was pretty sure I was the only one left now, since people wouldn't be yelling if I wasn't. I stretched, and made my way to the front entrance and opened the door. Instead of receiving any congratulations, I was met with a kick.

"AHHH!!!!!!" Emmett bellowed in fear before springing up with a kick aimed at my face. I ducked, barely avoiding contact with Emmett's sneaker. Jasper followed him, and I reacted instinctively. Before I knew it, I was fighting with 6 different people, and more were joining in.

"Emmett! It's me!" I shouted, blocking his punch. See, normally I would be fine, or at least I wouldn't die, but I was still recovering from Tanya's wound and I was breathing heavily. Someone, I think it was Jasper, dealt a blow to my side, exactly where the knife wound was. With a gasp, I collapsed to the ground. Emmett loomed over me, and grabbed my shirt collar. Somehow, I wasn't angry with him-it wasn't his fault he didn't recognize me because I looked like an extraterrestrial being from Neptune. His next words confirmed my thoughts. "Where have you taken Bella, you evil alien? What have you done to her?" He yelled, shaking me. I suddenly burst out in laughter, ridiculous as that sounds, but choked on it because of the pain I was experiencing. What resulted was this queer, gagging sound that sounded like a noise a duck would make.

"Don't you recognize me anymore, Emmett? Jeez, a couple hours away from you and you already forget what I look like." He dropped me in shock. I stumbled backwards and Jasper helped me up. "What…I'm so sorry, Bella…I didn't mean…why are you looking like that?" He finally managed to get out. "Everyone's still out looking for you, Edward, Rose and Alice have gone berserk, thinking that you were kidnapped."

"Um…I disguised myself as one of those statues in the courtyard outside…and sort of fell asleep," I admitted sheepishly. The Headmaster, who I didn't notice until now, chuckled loudly. "Well, Bella, I can't deny that you have won the competition beyond all doubt. I suggest you go wash up while I contact your friends to inform them of your well being." As I showered, a grin formed on my face-I had an awesome boyfriend, a doofus of a non-blood related big brother, a friend who could calm anyone down, two amazing best girl friends, and to top it off, I'd just won a big school competition. Could life get any better than this?

**A/N There you go, no cliffy this time. There's only going to be about 3 chapters left, but I have an idea for a new story already. Since the story is almost over, PLEASE REVIEW to anyone who's read this! **


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Sorry for not updating sooner! And thanks to all those who looked at my other story. Ugh, I can't believe this is the third to last chapter. This will be a light, funny chapter like the last one, since I don't think I've had enough of those in this story. **

BPOV

"You WHAT?!" I screamed so loudly that Rose made a face and Alice covered her ears. I glared fiercely at both of them. Yes, I knew that Alice thought I should be more involved with school activities, and yes, I knew that Rose was a total drama queen, but even in my wildest imaginations I had not thought they would sign me, _me_ up for the school play. When Ms. Cope, our English teacher had brought up the subject, I had completely dismissed it from my mind. That is, until now. Heck, I didn't even know what the play was about.

"You know, Bella, this will be much easier for both of us if you just shut up and listen," Alice said grumpily, massaging her temples.

"Who said I had to do it?" I asked, belligerently.

"Me, Ali, Emmett, Jasper, Ms. Cope, Edward…the list goes on and on," Rose said tiredly. "We told Ms. Cope and she totally agrees with us-though she doesn't know that you don't know."

"Edward agrees with you?" I asked, surprised.

"Well…we sort of convinced him that this is what you wanted, he doesn't know that we signed you up without your permission…"Rose trailed off. "Besides, it's too late to go back now. The Headmaster will be one of the judges, and since the audition sheet has already been handed to him, it's pretty much set in stone." I sighed over-dramatically.

"You two know I can't act." I said hopefully, though by the exasperated looks Alice and Rose exchanged, they weren't fooled by it. "Fine! What's the play on?"

"Pride and Prejudice-I signed you up for all the female parts excluding the parts Rose and I are trying out for," Alice said with barely concealed glee. I rolled my eyes-of course, they wouldn't want me getting the parts they wanted, would they? I wasn't too worried about memorizing all those lines-after all, I basically had the book memorized, and I could always improvise if I forgot. "What are you two trying out for?"

"Well, Jazz and I are trying out for Wickham and Lydia, and Rose and Emmett are going to try out for Jane and Bingley."

"I have to admit, playing the part of the foolish, overenthusiastic, silly sister suits you well." She glared at me, but grinned happily again. "And of course, Edward and you will be Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth!"

"You say that like it's going to happen," I complained, "there are other people trying out, you know. And who says I'm actually going to try?"

"Don't worry, Alice settled that. To make sure you try your hardest at being Elizabeth, she promised Jess and Lauren each a date with Edward if they got the part instead." I gasped-now that was low. "Edward is trying for the same reasons-Jazz and Em said that they'd force you on a date with either Eric or Mike if he didn't get the part of Mr. Darcy. Since it's obvious if you put one tenth of the energy into the play as you are using right now complaining, you could easily get the part, none of us exactly feel too bad right now." I pursed my lips. "Since when could Emmett catch me, much less subdue me enough so I could go on a date? I'm sure Edward knows that." Alice's face dropped, and Rose scowled, both knowing I was right. Laughing at their expressions, I said, "Kidding, kidding. Fine, I'll try out, and I'll speak to Edward. But I'm warning you, I'm not good enough to get any part, much less the biggest lead."

Two weeks later-hey guess who won the part of the main character in the play? That's right-me.

EPOV

"Stupid Alice," Bella muttered, fidgeting a little. She had assured me that she was trying out for this play of her own free will, but somehow I had a nagging suspicion Alice and Rose had a lot to do with it. We were auditioning in exactly four minutes and twenty seven seconds. Alice had persuaded the headmaster to let us audition together. We were doing the scene in which Mr. Darcy first proposes to Elizabeth, probably since there were so many tensions and emotions running high in that scene. Ms. Cope had said that we were coming up with our own scripts for the audition, though we could use a few lines from the actual book.

"Cullen, Swan!" Someone called. I sighed, and grabbed Bella's hand. We entered the auditorium, and took our places. Or rather, Bella took her place. When the lights turned on, she had put on a very preoccupied and disturbed expression on her face. I 'rang' the bell, and stepped in, fidgeting agitatedly. She looked up in surprise, and, though she tried to conceal it, displeasure. I paced back and forth for several seconds, before addressing her. "In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." The torrent of words burst out of me, unrestrained. We'd decided this would be one of the book's lines that would be best kept alone. I gazed intently upon Bella's face as she blushed, looking down with doubt and amazement. As I continued my speech, the words rushing out of me, flowing freely now about the love that refused to be restrained despite all my hardest efforts, a new earnestness entered my voice. As I spoke about how Mr. Darcy had hated the love he'd felt for her, had denied it vehemently because of her poor family connections and her three ridiculous younger, immature sisters and a mother who was no better, I felt myself connecting with Mr. Darcy more than I'd ever thought possible. Yes, our reasons were completely different, but at first, my pride had too prevented me from getting to know her. I'd denied everything good about her because, well, I didn't want to like her. What was she, after all? The poor daughter of a small town police chief whose scatterbrained mother had run off with a baseball player, who had come from a less superior spy school, and who looked weak enough to break with a single twist from my hand. I thought of how she had proved herself capable of handling this life, and how she'd eventually gained my never-ending respect. Yes, there were many things that Mr. Darcy and I had in common.

I broke out of my trance, looking at Bella's face, watching carefully the flood of emotions there. I watched as her face changed from disbelief and doubt, to shock and amazement, to sympathy, and finally to a look so full of disdain and contempt that I almost recoiled. As I finished, she looked up, eyes devoid of every emotion save disgust and anger.

"I suppose, in these situations, the proper way of rejecting a man is to express a sense of gratitude and obligation, no matter the difference between the sentiments of either. If I could _feel_ gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot- I have never once desired or sought your good opinion, and obviously, you have bestowed it on me most unwillingly, so it would be silly now to thank you. I am sorry to have caused pain to anyone, I can assure you that I did not mean to." There she took a breath. There was so much conviction in her voice that I couldn't help but shudder inwardly. It was an act-wasn't it? Even so, I couldn't prevent the blood draining from my cheeks. I forced myself to say calmly, "And so this is the reply that I receive! Though it is of small importance, I must wonder why this is the way that I am to be rejected, with so little attempt at civility."

"I might as well wonder," she replied, also with forced civility, "why with so obvious an intent of offending and insulting me, you decided to tell me that you 'liked' me against your will, against your reason, against everything that you possess? Was this not some excuse for incivility? But I have other reasons. You know I have. Do you imagine, that even if I did possess any favorable feelings toward you, that my answer would have been any different, that any consideration would have tempted me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps forever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?" Along with the hatred and contempt this time, there was also pain.

"I have every reason in the world to hate you." I couldn't help it, I flinched. "No motive whatsoever could excuse the unjust and unreasonable part you acted there. You cannot deny that you have been the principal, if not the only means, of separating them. Nor can you deny that by doing so, you have exposed one to the derision and scorn of the world for caprice and instability, have pained the other perhaps beyond any repair, and have involved them both in the sharpest misery." And so it went on, back and forth. During this whole time, I tried not to believe a world Bella was saying, but it was hard. How was I supposed to know that she was such a good actress? Every word she spoke was ice cold, and dripping with venom and renewed anger-especially when it came to Mr. Wickham, and that just made me angrier. Yes, I was losing myself way too completely in the part. Which resulted in me almost shouting, "And so this is your opinion of me! My faults, according to you, are indeed heavy indeed. Yet perhaps those might have been overlooked had your pride not been wounded by my honest confession of the scruples that have long prevented my forming any serious decision. Maybe," I mused, "these bitter accusations might have been nonexistent had I, more prudently, concealed all these doubts and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled with wholly, reasonable conviction without any misgivings of any kind. But I cannot bear such disguise. I am not ashamed of the feelings I related-they were natural and fair. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? To congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?" In my uncertainty, I had quoted the book more than I'd like, but at the moment, I simply didn't care. An angry red flush was crawling up Bella's neck. She said, with obvious forced composure, "You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you think that the way you declared yourself might have changed my decision in any way, than that it annihilated any sympathy I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanly manner. You could not have phrased your proposal of marriage to me in any way possible that would have tempted me to accept it." I winced-did she really have to be so convincing? I looked at her in incredulity and disbelief, remembering that back in the nineteenth century, people didn't refuse other people of superior classes. Bella continued speaking in a low voice: "From nearly the first moment of our acquaintance, your manners which enlightened me to the height of your arrogance, conceit, and selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the foundation of disapproval on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike that I had not known you a month before I felt, beyond all doubt, that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry…" As the lights flickered out, I met her cold icy stare, and for a moment, I couldn't help but believe her, believe everything that she'd said in the last half hour or so.

BPOV

As the lights flickered out, I looked into Edward's stunned, hurt eyes and my heart dropped. I hadn't played the part that well…right? Sighing, I reached out and took his hand. He relaxed a bit, though not much, under my touch. Leaning up, I kissed him gently on the cheek. "Didn't your mother ever teach you not to believe everything people say?" I asked lightly.

"What makes you think I believed you?" He asked, stung.

"Oh, I don't know…maybe the fact that you're still frozen as solid as a rock?" I teased. He relaxed even more. "I'm sorry…you're right, I'm just being stupid, aren't I?" His green eyes, which searched mine carefully, told me that a small part of him still didn't believe me completely yet. "Well, it looks like you weren't the only one I convinced," I said, gesturing toward the frozen audience. Pulling him behind me, I jumped lightly off the stage at the same time Alice ran up to us.

"Bella…holy cow…you had me scared for a moment," she shivered. "I was beginning to think that, old English language aside, you were breaking up with Edward." Rose nodded. "The tension in the room was so thick, you could have cut it with a knife," Jasper added. "But on the plus side, I think everyone believed you, even Edward. Which means that you two definitely got the part." As if to prove his point, Ms. Cope and the Headmaster walked up to us, both still a little dazed.

"Well, Bella, looks like we're going to see both you and Edward very soon," she said with a wink. Sure enough, a day later, both of our names were listed on the main lead sheet, along with Al, Jazz, Rose and Em.

It was official-I was a nervous wreck. It was the night of the play, and despite the past one and a half months spent rehearsing, I was hyperventilating right now. I hated being the center of attention-a natural unease that comes with being a spy. I pulled randomly at the lace at the ends of my sleeves. Stupid costumes. They were so itchy.

"Bella! You're on!" Jess, who played Mrs. Bennett, hissed. I gulped, and stopped breathing altogether, before stepping on stage. Amazingly, everything went smoothly. When we got to the ball, a few people gasped when they saw Emmett, as Mr. Bingley, and more than one girl ogled/drooled when they saw Edward. It took all my years of practice not to hiss. Edward saw my reaction, though no one else did, and gave me a slight wink when no one was looking. He knew me too well. Later, everyone laughed when they saw how I handled Mr. Collins, my annoying 'cousin', otherwise known as Mike Newton, when he proposed. Ben, the guy playing Mr. Bennett, smirked at me when I went off stage again. I didn't have any problem playing close friends with Charlotte, a.k.a. Angela. Lady Catherine, a.k.a. Lauren, played the part of the old, snobby lady perfectly. Of course, I don't think that was an act. When it got to the proposal scene, I swear the whole audience was holding their breath and/or glaring at Edward. He gave me a weak thumbs up when we went behind the curtain again. To Edward's annoyance, when I saw him at Pemberley, I over exaggerated my shock that he was being so civil, polite and gentlemanly, though the audience found it absolutely comical. When Elizabeth found out about Lydia's/Alice affair with Wickham/Jasper, I was able to shed a few fake tears-okay, more than a few, I was fake bawling hysterically. I thought it was sweet when the entire audience sighed as Mr. Bingley proposed to Jane/Rose, who played the part of my sweet, beautiful 'sister' perfectly. And of course, the entire audience cheered when Edward proposed to me a.k.a. Elizabeth a second time, and I, blushing furiously and looking down the whole time like a total dork, accepted. When the curtain opened one last time and I stepped out with Edward, last, we received by far the loudest cheer. The Headmaster handed me a bouquet of freesias, orange blossoms, lilacs and roses, and as I held it above my head in response to the overwhelming cheers and curtsied true Elizabeth Bennett style, I couldn't stop the tears of pure happiness that flowed freely down my face. All in all, it had been one of the best nights of my life.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed, I really appreciate your encouragement. However, I'd like more people to review, as I would like to reach a hundred reviews by the time this story is over. **

BPOV

Of course, since someone up there must not like me very much, my euphoria of the play was ended just two days later.

"Dad, no you can't do this…please…yes, I know it's an opportunity, but I just can't…see what she thinks?! I'm not going, what part of that do you not understand? I'm finally happy, and-hmm? Fine, I'll ask her opinion first but I'm warning you, even if she agrees with you, that doesn't mean I'll listen to her." Edward hung up angrily. I looked up curiously. It was unlike him to speak to Carlisle this way.

"Edward…is something wrong?" I asked cautiously. We were alone at his house-Alice was with Jasper somewhere doing god-knows-what. He took several deep breaths before answering.

"Carlisle finally convinced Siobhan-an old friend of his-to let Alice and me into the world's best spying school. It's somewhere in Europe-I don't really know the specifics. He's been trying to convince her for ages, and is ecstatic that he finally succeeded." I had a bad feeling where this was headed. "But I'm not going," he finished.

"What- why?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"You know why," he replied.

"Edward, no. You are not about to pass up this opportunity for me," I stated firmly, though I was breaking apart inside. He took my face in his hands.

"Bella, I'm finally happy for once in my life. Plenty of wonderful spies graduate from this school, and I'm staying."

"No you're going, period." I would not let him pass up the grand opportunity of his life for me. Also, if he did stay, I'd probably feel guilty for the rest of my life, always wondering if he regretted his decision. I would not be so selfish. He looked at me with a hurt expression.

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No! Of course not…but this is something you want, even if you won't admit it. Why would Carlisle try so hard otherwise to get you in? Yes, Avalon is a superb spy school, but everyone knows the Europe schools are better by tenfold." He looked at me tenderly. "You're too generous for your own good, Bella."

"Is that even possible?" I teased. At that moment, Alice and Jasper burst in the room. Alice was in tears, and she ran to her bedroom. Jasper ran helplessly after her.

"Looks like Jazz made his decision- he let her go. You know what my decision has to be- you have to be there, in Siobhan's school, wherever that may be, to take care of her." I said sadly. From the look in Edward's eyes, I could tell he had no choice but agree. It was his duty of a big brother to go wherever his sister would go.

For the next few days, Alice completely avoided Jasper. He stuck to his decision though, and I had to admire that. Turns out his reasoning was similar to mine. He wanted her to use her skill and ability to their full extent, and if that meant going across an ocean to a foreign school without him, then be it. Two days later though, when Alice accepted that she really was going to go, even if Carlisle and Esme had to drag her to the airport, she forgave Jasper and spent every minute with him. Edward was also constantly by my side. Though no one said it out loud, I could tell we all knew that these moments were numbered. Edward and Alice would be leaving right after prom.

"Edward! Where are you taking me?" I sighed as he tied a cloth over my eyes. "Is that really necessary? People are going to think you're kidnapping me." He smiled. Ever since Jasper had frankly forced Alice to agree with her parents' plan, and Edward had decided to go, if only to be with Alice, he'd gone overboard on the whole 'boyfriend' thing, always showering me with gifts, dinners (always his treat, despite my protests) and surprises…endless surprises. It was either a surprise picnic, or a surprise trip to the beach. Jasper, with Alice, wasn't much better. I think he was still trying to get her to forgive him.

After driving for about five minutes, so at least we were still in Forks (we were currently on a weekend visit at Esme's and Carlisle's house) he parked the car. Mentally, I had been calculating all the turns Edward made, so, unknowingly to him, I knew exactly where we were. Which was at the edge of a rather isolated park, where the woods began. Taking my hand, he carefully led me, guiding me over tree roots and fallen logs, until he stopped about 10 minutes later. Through my blindfold, I could tell we were in a more sunlit area. Edward tenderly untied the cloth, and suddenly I could see again. As I blinked, adjusting myself to the sudden light, my mouth dropped open. We were in a small, nearly perfectly circular clearing, or meadow. The grass was as green as the synthetic grass on golf courts. It was dotted with buttercups, purple violets, and other wildflowers; splotches of vibrant color in the already perfect setting. Somewhere, I heard water and assumed there was a hidden stream somewhere, flowing under rocks. This place belonged in a fairytale, not real life, and especially not _my _life.

"It's…" No words could describe it.

"Too small, maybe? Too light, too green?" Edward's voice was suddenly worried.

"Try switching to positive adjectives and I'll tell you which one fits." My eyes were still locked on the meadow, but I could hear the smile in his reply.

"Okay then, how about surreal, timeless, wonderful, or perfect?"

"That definitely fits," I agreed. Then, noticing the basket he carried with his other arm, I raised an eyebrow.

"I thought a picnic would be nice," he said sheepishly. I laughed.

"You know, usually when people surprise me, I hate it, but with you…I think I could get used to them," I said.

"That's good, because there's a lot more coming."

The rest of the day was spent laughing, talking, and okay, maybe a little kissing in the meadow. The topic of Edward's leaving never came up. It was one of those rare, sunny days in Forks, and when evening came, I just laid on my back, gazing at the sky soaking up the last rays of sunshine. _Nothing good ever lasts,_ I thought, thinking that Edward had about two months left.

Those two months passed faster than I would have though possible. The prom was in precisely a week, and then both my boyfriend and one of my best friends would be gone for five years. I refused to think that our relationship would fade away because of the distance, instead focusing on happy things as Alice dragged me through yet another of her shopping trips. Since it was very likely to be our last girls' night out, neither Rose nor I complained, instead sharing in Alice's enthusiasm.

"So, do you think I look better in green, yellow or black?" Alice asked.

"I personally like the black, but since it's prom, don't you think you should go for something a little more colorful?" I asked.

"Nah, go for the black, it brings out the color of your eyes. Jasper will love that," Rose disagreed.

"Okay, green it is," Alice agreed. "Now it's Bella's turn!"

"Fine, but I want a blue dress," I said. After 2 hours of trying various dresses, we agreed on a deep blue, halter, v-necked, back-less dress. Rose decided on a bright, scarlet elegant one. Suddenly, in the middle of paying for them, Alice spontaneously burst into tears.

"I-I don't want to l-leave! What if Siobhan doesn't let her students go shopping? Plus this is the last shopping trip where the three of us are together for five years!" She sobbed. Rose and I looked at each other, and then dragged her over to the Ben and Jerry's stall in the mall. Sugar and Alice are not two things you want to mix, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Finally, Alice calmed down enough to go home. As the shopping spree drew to an end, for the first time in my life-and the last- I wished it could have lasted longer.

Stupid Mike, I thought. This was the last night Edward would be spending here, and guess what? He wasn't even here yet, so guess who I was dancing with? Yep, you guessed it, wimpy Mike Newton. I felt a sense of déjà vu as I realized this was almost exactly like the Halloween dance. As if on cue, Edward suddenly arrived. His look of joy when he saw me was replaced my disgust when he saw Mike. I mouthed the words _Help me_. He grinned, and turned around. My mouth fell open. His shoulders were shaking slightly in laughter. The jerk wasn't even going to rescue me, knowing that I did NOT know how to handle situations like these. Just as I closed my eyes and willed it to be over, Mike suddenly jerked away from me with a loud curse. I opened my eyes to see a smirking Edward before us holding an empty punch cup and a very furious looking Mike with punch all over the front of his shirt. The punch was bright red and would definitely stain- convenient. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, sorry Mike," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "You'll need to go to the bathroom to get that out, I suppose? Too bad. Well, I'll keep Bella company while you're gone." Mike glared at him, but had the sense not to do anything drastic, like hit him for example. As soon as Mike's back was turned, Edward grabbed my hand and dragged me away.

"Edward!" I scolded. "That wasn't nice." He smirked at me.

"You don't sound so mad." I glared at him.

"Where are you taking me?" My question was answered when he dragged me upstairs and through a window onto the roof. It had sort of become our private place, if you know what I mean.

"Are you trying to recreate our first dance together?" I teased, twirling and swirling to the music. He laughed nervously. "Actually, the purpose in mind is much more important than that." I looked into his eyes and saw the dead seriousness in them.

"Bella…I want you to be in my life, forever and always and so I have a question to ask." He knelt down, and suddenly I had a very bad feeling about where this was headed. Something in his eyes told me I was right.

"Edward…don't," I murmured softly, gently placing a finger on his lips, silencing them. His eyes instantly burned with hurt and rejection.

"Bella, I understand if you don't want me, but…"

"Edward, if you think that, you should really get your head checked."

"Then why don't you want to marry me?"

"I…" I paused, then continued, "I do, but just not now." He shook his head in confusion. "I don't understand."

"It's just that…ugh!" I grabbed my hair in frustration. "This isn't how I imagined it would be! To get engaged at age seventeen, not even a legal adult yet!"

"The wedding can wait until you're eighteen," he said patiently. He just didn't get it, did he?

"No…but that's not the only part. I don't want to wait five years for my fiancée to get home, without any knowledge of whether he's still alive or not, and then get married! I don't know how to explain this, but it just doesn't feel _right_. Or at all responsible. It's just not _me._"

Edward then looked up, and his eyes seemed a lot happier. "It's okay, I understand. This is just another test for me to pass, right? To see if I can stay committed to you for five years without running off with some other girl?" I opened my mouth to violently protest, but he cut me off. "You know deep down that's part of the reason, even if you won't admit it. I guess I was just being silly- I wanted absolute proof that you were mine, no matter what. You're right- it's not only irresponsible, but also childish. Now that you mention it, this isn't how I'd like my engagement to be either. But I can promise you that those five years won't change anything…for me, and I'll definitely make this offer again as soon as I get back. However, if _you_ change your mind because of the distance, or…"

I silenced him again, this time with a swift kiss.

"Love doesn't walk away, Edward. People do." **(AN What do you think of that quote?!)**

**

"ARGH!" I yelled, jumping off my bed in shock as I glanced at my alarm clock. Trust this to be the day of all days where it had to break down. It was 5:30 a.m. and Edward and Alice were supposed to be leaving for London in an hour, and then it was no contact between us for five whole years. Siobhan was very strict about that policy. Unfortunately, the airport was AT LEAST 2 hours away, and I was supposed to be ¾ of the way there by now. I _had_ to say goodbye, but how was I supposed to do it? Well, if it were possible to get to the airport on time, sitting around here moping sure wouldn't help. Hurriedly, I threw on the white Hollister sundress I'd laid out and kidnapped Charlie's cruiser, (one of the few pros of being a cop is that people don't care if they see a police car speeding) and substituted brushing my teeth with eating 5 Mentos. Speeding to the airport at 100 miles per hour, I quickly texted Charlie. Hopefully he wouldn't be TOO pissed off. Most people are not supposed to be texting while driving, especially at that speed, but spies are skilled like that. God finally must have decided to take pity on me because I got there- with five minutes till boarding. Showing my fake FBI identity card to all the security I met, I spotted Edward. He was with Alice and Jazz, who were somewhere between looking anxiously for me and having a very teary farewell, and Rose and Emmett, who seemed to be reassuring Edward. Edward himself looked positively defeated, though his keen eyes scrutinized every brunette that passed. They hadn't seen me yet, as I was behind them, and I snuck up on them all using my best spy stalk. I tapped Edward on the shoulder gently.

"Looking for someone?" I asked lightly, enjoying the look on his face as he nearly jumped out of his skin, but then wrapped me in a bone crushing hug.

"Bella!" Emmett boomed. "See, dude, you should totally trust me more. I told you she wouldn't ditch you."

"Yes, in a very uncertain voice," Rose said, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry I'm late- stupid alarm clock broke," I explained.

"You should be," he murmured, before urgently pressing his lips against mine. I responded eagerly seeing as it was the last time I'd get to see him before he left. The kiss was desperate, forceful, full of passion and desire. When he pulled away, he chuckled at my short, uneven breaths.

"I knew you couldn't resist me," he said smugly. I punched him in the shoulder.

"Don't be so full of yourself. I only came to warn you not to look at any pretty French girls-or wherever it is you're going- or else there will be hell waiting for you back home. Oh yeah, and I also came here to say goodbye to Alice," I said, walking over to hug my best friend. Emmett laughed. "That's the Bella I know."

"Ugh, and here I was thinking that you'd come to offer a very genuine, tearful farewell to your loving boyfriend who definitely deserves one."

"So you want me to cry?" I asked with some amusement.

"I'd like you to show some affection," he answered seriously. "A guy can't help but wonder with a girl like you." He doubted me? Or more specifically, my love and loyalty?

"I love you Edward, and I always will-never doubt that," I stated firmly, then continued in lighter tone, "And if it makes you happy, I'll give you a very genuine, tearful, affectionate 'welcome back', if you _do_ come back." We gazed at each other for a long time until Alice cleared her throat. "Sorry, but we're kind of on a short schedule here. Edward broke his gaze first.

"I'll come back for you," he promised. I had never heard him sound so sure, and couldn't help but believe him. I felt his lips brush briefly against my forehead, and then he was gone.

I watched Edward disappear in the crowds of people with a strange numb feeling as he took everything of mine that mattered, with him: my other half, my soul….my heart.

**A/N Don't be mad at me! I know EXACTLY what I'm doing! ONE MORE CHAPTER SO REVIEW PEOPLE! Oh, and if you're wondering, I'll probably update my other story tomorrow or Friday.**


	24. Epilogue: Story of My Life

**A/N: Since this is the final chapter of this story, I will be providing a lengthy reply to everyone who reviews, even if I get over a hundred. (Ha, like I'd ever be that lucky. Still, you get the picture.) I'd like to thank Kammi93 for being my most consistent and best reviewer. Even though I don't know her personally, I think she's awesome. I'd also like to thank OmTrOcKiT101 for following Spy High all this time. That's not to say any review is more valued over another- I just feel like I should acknowledge the people previously named. And no, I will not be doing a sequel for the pure fact that I would have nothing to write about. Again, please review!**

BPOV

_5 Years Later_

Purgatory. You know that place of awful suspense where souls are kept before being shipped off to the Final Destination? Yeah, that's what I though life without Edward and his sister Alice was like- at first. My life was just temporarily being held on hold. After the two year mark, I realized I was mistaken. My life wasn't Purgatory. It was the _other_ place, and I'm not talking about Heaven here. I'm talking about the place with the fire, eternal agony and pitchforks. That's right, Hell.

Every breath I took hurt. Everything reminded me of _him_. To distract myself, I lost myself in my work. Finishing my last year of high school, I underwent intense training at various places (including under an experienced martial arts master in Japan) for two years. I've been so undercover that only a handful of people know I actually exist, or that I'm not dead.

I also distracted myself by keeping tabs on Edward and Alice. Call me a stalker, but I, for one, take great comfort in the knowledge that my best friend and the love of my life are still alive. They don't know it's me watching them of course, though I suspect they know someone's tracking them. Contact between us is absolutely forbidden- rules are rules, and if Siobhan knew that I knew all about her school's security system having hacked into it multiple times for homework, she'd probably arrange an 'accident' for me.

But really, without my friends, I don't know how I would have survived. Rose and Emmett were absolutely wonderful during my senior year, but what brought me though it all was…Jasper. Though Rose and Em were the coolest and friendliest people anyone could ask for, at times I couldn't even look at them because when I did and saw the love they shared, it felt like someone was ripping my chest apart. Not my heart, because Edward had it with him, but still, the pain was too much for me to handle. Jasper understood how I felt- I wasn't the only one pining for their soul mate. When he and I talked about Ali and Edward, it was a relief rather than torture. His eyes lit up every time he talked about Alice; I'll bet my eyes did the same in Edward's case. I recalled the time Jasper told me about how he and Alice had met: apparently, he'd rescued her from a rabid squirrel when she was seven. I'd laughed and told him it was a heck of a lot more romantic than how Edward and I'd met.

I felt a twinge of sadness as I thought about my friends. We hadn't seen each other in months- Jasper was currently somewhere in Texas and Rose and Em were on a mission in Africa. I'd heard they were engaged, and were getting married as soon as Edward and Alice returned. As for me, I was somewhere far less glamorous, and snorted as I thought of my new identity. Even though I was currently on a break from work, I had to disguise myself- just in case. I mean, I had personally started a rumor that Isabella Swan had recently died. I hoped Edward wasn't stupid enough to fall for that story. Basically, right now I was 29-year-old Jane Wilson, new English teacher at La Push Middle School, and was staying with my 'cousins' Emily and Sam. They'd given up spying, setting for a normal life instead, but were always happy to help me, for which I was grateful. Emily, though no longer a spy, was the master of disguise. She'd found me an exclusive blond wig, and had made my features look seven years older with makeup. She was a genius. I liked the pretense of living a normal life, but it was kind of boring sometimes, like now when Sam and Emily were out celebrating their anniversary. Leah and Jake, or 'Corinne' and 'Derek' as were their current identities, were on their honeymoon. As I stared at the blank T.V., drumming my fingers on the coffee table in front of me, the phone rang.

At first, I reached for the home phone, and then stopped, realizing it was my cell phone. The untraceable emergency phone that no one knew the number to, except for Em, Rose, Jazz, Leah, Jake (Charlie, Emily and Sam didn't know- it was for their own safety) and my 'boss' Vanessa knew. Looking down at it, I realized the number was unfamiliar, which made my heart pound. Who was this stranger? Debating whether or not to answer, I made my decision. Yes, it was risky, but I had to know.

"Hello?" I asked, my calm voice betraying none of the turmoil I felt inside.

"Bella?" I literally nearly dropped the phone in shock, but recovered quickly.

"It's me, Edward," he continued. Like I didn't know _that._

"I know," and paused, hearing him chuckle. "How did you get my number?"

"I tracked Jasper down, but we can discuss that later. I'm in Forks now, and I'd like to see you, if that's okay with you." This time I really did drop the phone in shock. He was _here_, in Forks, less than twenty miles away?

"Bella?" the angelic voice asked again, worried now. I picked the phone back up.

"Sorry…just a little surprised, that's all."

"Okay, then, if that's all…meet me in the meadow in half an hour?" I could hear both the smile and anticipation in his voice, though he did a very good job of concealing it.

"Of course." The line went dead. I sat down on the couch, breathing deeply for several seconds. Then, a second before I bounded out the door, I stopped and it occurred to me that I might want to dress up a little and take off my disguise. Five minutes later, I decided on a casual, deep blue sundress, with a thin white sweater-vest over it. I pulled my hair into a decent looking twist, and pulled in silver flats, and put on the necklace he'd given me for Christmas, and decided I was ready. I got in the small Toyota Camry I'd bought, and it was all I could do to not go over 100 miles an hour to get to the familiar edge of woods. Then, I'd gotten out, and sprinted noiselessly the rest of the way there, and stopped at the edge of the clearing. His back was to me, and I could see his hair was exactly the same bronze shade I knew and loved. He was also dressed in a tuxedo, and I suddenly felt very self conscious. I managed to take a few silent steps forward before I stopped. I wanted to run into his arms more than anything, but wasn't sure how he'd take it. Was a girl supposed to do that? What if he thought it was too much, too enthusiastic, too eager, too…needy, and clingy? Maybe he wanted a little formality- he was dressed in a tux, after all. As I hesitated, unsure, Edward turned around. He wouldn't be able to hide the ecstasy and boundless joy in his eyes if he'd wanted to. In fact, he didn't even try. A corner of his lips turned up in a crooked smile, and held his arms out toward me, no doubt wanting me to do the same thing that I wanted to do. I needed no further encouragement.

Time seemed to slow down as I leaped gracefully toward Edward's waiting arms. All propriety forgotten, I all but tackled him. He caught me around the waist, spun me around adoringly, before holding me to him in a bone-crushing hug. I breathed in the smell of him in huge gasps, and realized that for the first time in five years, I felt whole. Complete.

"It's been too long," he murmured against my hair, still holding me to him like a life preserver. He suddenly pulled back, and for the first time, really looked at me.

"You know, I was really hoping to do this in a- how shall we put it?- more reserved, proper way, but you are making it exceedingly difficult."

"What the heck are you talking about?" I asked. He smiled, and shook his head teasingly. "That's my girl, always clueing into things too subtle for other people to notice, but completely oblivious to the obvious."

"Can you get on with it and quit critiquing my observing skills?"

"Bella, Bella, Bella," he said, shaking his head again, but then his face turned completely serious. "When I left, Bella," he began, taking a deep breath, his scorching eyes turning my bones to jelly, "I had some unfinished business with you." My breathing sped up as I realized what he meant. "I asked you a question, and you told me to come back when I finished my training and matured up a little." I wanted to tell him that I didn't say the last part, but now didn't seem like the best time. I seriously doubted I could get the words out anyway, lost in his eyes as I was. Before I could stop him, he knelt to the ground. "Bella, will you marry me?"

"Of course," I whispered. Then, before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Do I get my ring now?" Wow, way to ruin the moment girl.

He smiled. "Of course," he repeated what I'd said. His fingers covered mine for a moment, and the next instant, they were gone. I looked down to see an exquisite, heart shaped diamond, surrounded by a ring of tiny sapphires and other diamonds. The ring itself was platinum, and I gazed at it, completely dazzled.

"Like it?" Edward's voice brought me back down to Earth. I shrugged.

"It's okay," I said, trying and failing to sound nonchalant. He smirked.

"Just 'okay'? Maybe if it's just 'okay,' I should take it back and get another one?"

"NO!" I yelled, yanking my hand back. His smirk became more pronounced.

"Uh…I mean…" Edward took my face in his hand. "Don't try to get anything past me, Isabella Marie." Just as I was about to make some clever retort to that, he kissed me and all conscious thought evaporated. He lifted his lips slightly so I could breathe. "Now, what were you saying about that ring?"

"Uh," that was all I got to, as he kissed me again. His lips were way too persuading, and I found myself caving. As he kissed me a third time, all my defenses vanished, and a steady stream of words tore out of me.

"Beautiful…stunning…way too extravagant…shouldn't have spent so much money….completely love it," I mumbled.

"That's more like it," Edward said.

"You know, I'm pretty sure coercion and duress are illegal." I said, trying to get a grip on myself.

"Are you trying to tell me you didn't enjoy it?"

"Yes…I mean no," I stuttered, then sighed. "Where did all my self control go?"

"Straight out the window as soon as you saw me," he answered his voice smug. "Mine's close to following. I must say I enjoyed your lack of control."

"I'll bet you did," I muttered. He ignored me, changing the subject.

"Alice is going to be happy. Now she gets to plan a triple wedding."

"What? They're engaged?" I asked, stunned.

"Last time I checked, she wasn't. But how long do you think Jazz can hold out before he pops the question?" He had a good point. The thought of the three of us in white gowns next to each other made me smile.

"So, what's Alice been up to?" He rolled his eyes.

"You don't want to know. I think the words annoying, complaining, and pining for Jazz summed up how she was pretty well. I swear, if I stayed one more minute with her hopping up and down on the plane seat, my head would explode. She's currently with Jazz- to my understanding, they'll arrive here tomorrow to see us."

"Okay, enough about Alice. How have _you _been…Agent 1277?" Edward froze. If there's one thing that's important to any spy, it's the secrecy of your identity. Edward hadn't exactly told me that fact, but he needed to know there was no need to keep secrets from me, as I already knew them.

"How did you know?" He asked, forcing calmness into his voice.

"Well…when I learned of this nearly legendary spy who was rumored to have a short sidekick…I couldn't resist but look into the matter. After all, sleuthing is my job. And…" I lowered my gaze, "I was kind of keeping tabs on you two. You know, to make sure you both were okay." His unexpected laugh startled me.

"Well, here I was, worrying about whether you'd be hurt if I didn't tell you everything about who I was. You know, you had both Alice and I scared to death. We knew someone was watching us at times, and were terrified it was an enemy who may or may not know our real identities. I'm relieved that it was only you."

"So you're not mad?" I asked in disbelief.

"Of course not. I can't deny that I tried to do the same thing, especially after that rumor…" he narrowed his eyes slightly, probably only now realizing I myself caused that rumor, "but never with satisfactory results. You seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth." He chuckled darkly. "I can't deny the relief that washed over me when Jasper told me you were fine."

"Sorry. It was necessary for my cover." I muttered.

"Since you blew my cover, and we're about to be married soon, would you mind telling me who you are exactly…in the undercover world? Since I wasn't going to tell you, I understand if you don't want to tell me," he added quickly, but I could see the burning curiosity in his eyes. I laughed lightly.

"I don't actually have a specific name. It helps with the whole secrecy thing. Most people think I'm a myth, and I don't blame them, with the nicknames I've acquired. They include 'The Scarred One,' 'The Invisible Spy', and my favorite, 'The Vengeful Spirit Who Never Fails in Kicking Bad Guys' Butts'." I looked up to see Edward gawking at me.

"T-that's you? I heard several spies discussing the topic at a conference and never believed someone _that_ good could exist." I smirked. "That shows me that my cover is secure." Edward frowned lost in thought.

"The Scarred One…" he murmured. Then his eyes flashed to my face. "Why do they call you that?" I blushed, now wishing I hadn't mentioned that particular name.

"Well…on one of my missions- I think it was in Zimbabwe- I was careless and my mask slipped just a bit. We were under a bridge, it was raining, and the moisture washed my face of makeup. The guy I was fighting saw a glimpse of my…my left cheek." Edward sucked in a sharp breath. "He might have screamed something about seeing the devil's mark, in the shape of some scars." Edward gently traced his fingers down the barely noticeable scars Tanya had left on my face. "Bella…" his voice sounded choked. "I can never forgive myself that…fiasco. It was partially my fault, however much you might deny it. I can't apologize enough…" I cut him off.

"Love means never having to say you're sorry," I quoted from a movie Emily and I had watched last week, Love Story. He offered me half a smile. I beamed back, and my grin just grew wider as he went behind a tree to retrieve the picnic basket hidden there. Just realizing how hungry I was, I dug in. With my mouth full of a PB & J sandwich, I updated him on Em and Rose. In turn, he told me some stories of missions he'd gone on. I was amazed at how much his skill grew- he was no longer the lonely boy I'd left behind; the guy who'd just proposed to me was every bit a grown man. All too soon, it was time to leave.

"Emily and Sam will be worried," I said, stretching.

"Alice will kill me if I don't immediately call her and tell her your decision," Edward replied. "She'll be so happy you want to have your wedding with hers and Rose's. It'll give her one more excuse to go overboard on it."

"Wedding…" I trailed off dreamily. "Isn't it strange how we'll all be related soon?"

"And soon you won't be Bella Swan, but Bella Cullen," Edward answered laughingly. He offered me his hand and I gladly took it. As we walked out of the meadow, I didn't look back for once in my life. Because now, I wasn't alone any longer. Just before we reached the woods, a single ray of sunlight broke out through the clouds and landed directly on my ring, making it sparkle.

And thus concludes the story of how a boy with a broken heart, and a girl who tried too hard to protect herself against one, met, fell in love, and finally had their happily ever after…together.

_**The End**_


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